Brendan Rodgers will be remembered at Liverpool for the 2013/14 season in which he came agonisingly close to guiding the club to their first league title since 1990.
The Irishman was relieved of his duties last October, when a poor start to the campaign cost him his job and saw him replaced by Jurgen Klopp.
And the turn around in fortunes that the German has managed to achieve has been quite remarkable in not much more than a year in charge.
The Reds boss guided the club to both the League Cup and Europa League final last campaign – although they lost on both occasions. And has made a promising start to the new campaign, with Liverpool currently four points adrift of league leaders Chelsea.
But despite the German taking Rodgers’ place in the dugout at Anfield, the 43-year-old, now in charge of Celtic, believes his successor can go one further than he did three seasons ago and guide Liverpool to Premier League glory.
It’s been 26 long years for Reds fan, but Rodgers admitted to TalkSport his former club are “Very close, very close,” to winning the league, as per the Daily Mail.
“As I’ve said, he’s done great Jurgen, he’s got them really working, got them focused and they’ve got big quality in the squad so I’m sure they’ll be in with a great chance.” said Rodgers.
A dramatic late 4-3 defeat sent shock waves through the travelling Liverpool fans at Bournemouth on Sunday, as Klopp’s men suffered only their second defeat of the campaign.
But Rodgers does not feel that loss to the Cherries, who are in their second season in the Premier League, has severely dinted their chances of lifting the trophy come May, with both Chelsea and Arsenal currently above them in the table.
“It’s just unfortunate the other day, I thought they were excellent in the first half (against Bournemouth).” Rodgers added.
“You get to 3-1, I’ve had similar games there myself, we looked like we were in control and then you lose them.
“The players that were there when I was there have got greater experience now – (Philippe) Coutinho, Jordan Henderson, Lucas Leiva – these are guys that have been through it.”
The Celtic boss has had to juggle both domestic and European commitments with the Scottish giants this season, although they exited the Champions League at the group stages, with high expectations on the former Reds boss to retain their SPL title.
However, he knows all about the benefits of not having to juggle European football and challenge for the league title, when he came within two points of winning the Premier League with Liverpool.
Klopp is enjoying the benefits of focusing on just one fixture a week – with the Anfield outfit having failed to secure a place in Europe last campaign – and Rodgers believes that could be in Liverpool’s favour.
“Obviously they’ve got one game a week,” said Rodgers. “They can really focus on that, and I think they will be very, very close,”
The Reds begin a busy festive period with what, on paper, should be a comfortable afternoon against strugglers West Ham on Sunday, followed by Middlesbrough, Merseyside rivals Everton and Stoke, before a Premier League title fight with Manchester City on New Year’s Eve.