Football management is a small world.
After leaving Celtic to join Tottenham, Ange Postecoglou was sacked in the summer despite winning the Europa League, and now finds himself already under pressure at Nottingham Forest.
His old ally and assistant Kevin Muscat is meanwhile the new favourite to take over at Rangers, who sacked Russell Martin after their draw against Falkirk.
The initial favourite for the Ibrox post was Steven Gerrard, who was Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers’ captain at Liverpool. Everyone knows everyone.
And to tie things back to Tottenham, the new Spurs boss has now revealed his pre-existing relationship with the Hoops manager.
Thomas Frank on Brendan Rodgers
Frank and Rodgers first shared a dugout in an FA Cup tie in January 2020, when Brentford were still in the Championship.
They later did it on several occasions in the Premier League, after Brentford’s promotion the following year.
They are the same age, born just two months apart. So it’s understandable that they’ve maintained a friendship.
But Rodgers isn’t Frank’s only friend in management – he listed several Premier League-adjacent coaches when asked about managers he gets on with.
Speaking on Sportbible, Frank said: “I think we all have massive respect for each other, it’s only us that knows how it is to stand out there and be in the changing room making the decisions and going through scrutiny.
“Huge respect is there and over the years you get closer with some. The English guys, Moyes, Sean Dyche, Brendan Rodgers, Potter and so on.”
Thankfully Brentford didn’t approach Rodgers to replace Frank when he left this summer.
What managers is Brendan Rodgers friends with?
Rodgers isn’t known for making noise about his personal life – unless he’s giving his son a game for Celtic in a friendly.
A manager he is best known for his relationship with is Jose Mourinho. Rodgers essentially owes his career to the Chelsea legend – he was his mentor at Stamford Bridge.
In Scotland, he has worked closely with John McGlynn, influencing the former Hearts boss who is now in charge of Falkirk.
Coaches who have gone from working as Rodgers’ assistant to managing teams in their own right include Chris Davies, Damien Duff and Kolo Toure.