BR expresses Martin O'Neill surprise
Brendan Rodgers has expressed surprise at Martin O'Neill's departure from Sunderland.
O'Neill parted company with the 16th-placed Black Cats this weekend - and journalists asked Rodgers for his thoughts following our 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Sunday.
"Whenever someone of the status of Martin O'Neill loses his job then we've all got to be on the back foot," said Rodgers.
"This is a guy with many years of experience and went into Sunderland and picked them up off their knees. It's obviously a difficult time but he's still a top-class manager.
"I hear the same things about Stoke and Tony Pulis. I think they need to be careful, some clubs. They need to understand where they're at and that they won't always be on the front foot going forward.
"If you ask clubs like Leeds and Portsmouth and Barnsley, teams that were in the Premier League, I think they'd be happy with Tony Pulis, Martin O'Neill and guys like these.
"Guys like Martin O'Neill losing their job - it's a sad day."
Rodgers also expressed support for Paul Lambert, who he thinks will lead Aston Villa on a upward curve in time despite their current position in the relegation zone.
"He's a top, top manager," said Rodgers. "You saw what he did with Norwich.
"The problem as a manager is you don't have a debut as a team. Individuals have debuts but as a manager you have to try and work with what you've got, improve it and make it better.
"The longer he is there, the better Aston Villa will become. There is no question about that. You see the fight and the energy the players here have got. Once he's brought in the profile of players he wants, they'll keep moving forward."
Like Rodgers, Lambert took over his current team last summer having impressed with a promoted side.
Asked if that made their journeys this season comparable, the boss said: "No, it's not the same. It's incomparable.
"Managing Liverpool is a huge honour, a real privilege. To manage a club with five European Cups and 18 league titles, and expectancy every single day of your life, it's incomparable to most clubs."