THEY famously never saw eye-to-eye at the end of their spell together at Parkhead.
But despite the controversial fall-out, Dedryck Boyata insists Brendan Rodgers had a major impact on his career during their time with each other at Celtic.
Rodgers with Boyata in 2017[/caption]
The pair did have some good times together in Glasgow[/caption]
Boyata, now 34, was brought to Parkhead by Ronny Deila in 2015 and started working under Rodgers when he took charge the following year.
The Belgian centre-back was sidelined with an injury when the former Liverpool and Swansea City was appointed and he went several weeks before making his first appearance.
It’s no secret the pair didn’t get on at the end of Boyata’s spell after the player was believed to have tried to force through a transfer and Rodgers accused him FAKING an injury to avoid playing.
But Boyata has now revealed that he felt the manager had an issue with him from the very start – even before he had kicked a ball.
However, now looking back, the defender believes that the manager’s tough love approach actually helped shape his career for the better.
While at Manchester City, Boyata played under the likes of Roberto Mancini and Manuel Pellegrini, but it’s the lessons he received from Rodgers that stick with him.
The same, however, can’t be said for Mark Hughes…
Discussing the early days of his career on the Footb’All Time podcast, he said: “When I was at Manchester City they didn’t ask you to play the ball. They just wanted you to give it to your left-back or right-back who could then play (it forward).
“The defender focused only on defending so therefore you had to be big and physical, and ensure sure you were strong in duels.
“I had Mark Hughes as a coach then Roberto Mancini so I had the English way and then someone who was very defensive driven.
“With Mark Hughes he was purely focused on duels so truthfully I can’t say I learned anything with him.
“Mancini was all about positioning and man-to-man marking. If you were two centimeters away from where he wanted you to be then he’d come and drag you to where you were meant to be.
“Pellegrini on the other hand was very offensive. We scored a lot of goals with Sergio Aguero, Edin Dzeko and Alvaro Negredo, but we conceded many at the other end as well.
“When I moved to Celtic I first met Ronny Deila who I also worked under at Club Brugge.
“Then Brendan Rodgers arrived, and at first things didn’t go well with him.
“I was injured when he got there, but he said when I returned I had to work on many different areas of my game.
“I had to work on the number of balls I lost in training and my ball recovery. He also told me I spent too much time on the ball and urged me to work on my intensity in training and on the pitch.
“He always found something to improve and this process lasted three or four months.
“I kept saying to myself that he must have a problem with me because he still didn’t play me (after all the work).
“But these things ended up allowing me to be able to analyse my game more closely and in a different way from before.
“I didn’t think too much about my flaws before I was at Celtic. It really helped me transform my game into a more modern-style defender.”
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