BR's admiration for Scouse duo
Brendan Rodgers admits he is relishing the opportunity of working alongside Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher as he hailed the experienced pair as the 'life and soul' of Liverpool.
The boss has met both stars as he starts the process of implementing his ideas and philosophies at Anfield, and the Northern Irishman stressed the importance of the local duo to his future plans with the Reds.
"I believe your senior players are vital," Rodgers told Liverpoolfc.com. "Those two are the life and soul of this football club; they've been very important members of the group here for a number of years.
"I enjoy working with both youth and senior players. I like to work well with everyone but obviously have close relations with the captain and the vice-captain. Those players, like them all, will play important roles in our future going forward."
Gerrard is enjoying a rest period following his exertions with England at Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine but has taken time to meet his new manager for a chat.
Rodgers watched on as the skipper played a key role in the Three Lions' run to the quarter-finals - and was left suitably impressed by the No.8's 'wonderful' tournament.
The boss said: "He's on his break at the moment, a well-deserved break - he was wonderful in the (European) championships. But he has very kindly wanted to come in and have a coffee and have a chat over things.
"He's a great role model for this club, a wonderful, inspirational player and obviously a great captain on and off the field.
"He obviously missed a lot of last season, which I know was frustrating for him, but it meant he was getting back up to fitness at the end of the season. He had a wonderful championship, which was great and bodes well for us for this season.
"You can sense from the outside that Liverpool is very much in his heart, he really is the soul of this football club.
"He's maybe not the loudest on the field but captains are different. Some are more vocal, some are just pure inspirational in terms of their actions and he's very much that."
Rodgers was equally complimentary about Carragher's abilities off the field, following the 34-year-old's stint as a pundit for ITV during the European Championship.
"Yes, he was probably one of the better ones over the course of the championship," said the manager. "He has good knowledge of the game and he's interested, that's the important factor. You get some players who aren't interested in football.
"Football is their life, their work but they're not interested in football. Jamie, in my chats with him, is like myself - probably up until two o'clock in the morning watching German football on a Sunday having watched five or six games before that.
"So he's got a real passion and I can relate to people like that. He's a good lad and I thought he spoke very well when he was away. He has good knowledge of the game and he represented himself and the club very well in his punditry."
Carragher's first appearance of the 2012-13 season will be his 700th for the Reds, further consolidating his position as the man with the second-highest number of games for the club.
Rodgers has already been impressed with the centre-back's attitude during his short time at the helm and hinted at a future career in coaching for the No.23.
"I'm looking forward to having a couple of real good football conversations with Jamie already," added the 39-year-old. "I love his enthusiasm and passion for football. He's now at the stage of his career where the coaching side becomes a bit more prominent so he's got a real keen interest in that."