Dignified departure: 'incredibly disappointed' Brendan Rodgers pays tribute to Liverpool fans, players, staff and owners
Sacked Reds manager says goodbye to the club, insisting he has no ill feelings towards anyone and saluting 'amazing' Anfield supporters
Brendan Rodgers said he was "incredibly disappointed" to have been sacked as manager of Liverpool, but paid warm tributes to the club's players, staff and fans.
"I am, of course, incredibly disappointed to be leaving Liverpool Football Club," Rodgers said in a statement released by the League Managers' Association (LMA), which represents managers in English football.
"It has been both an honour and a privilege to manage one of the game's great clubs for the last three years."
I have worked every day to represent the club to the best of my ability, to develop both individual players and a team that the club's magnificent fans can be proud of
Rodgers, 42, took Liverpool to the brink of the Premier League title in 2014, but they finished sixth last season and are currently 10th in the table with 12 points from eight games.
He was sacked three years and four months into the job, with Liverpool's owners Fenway Sports Group (FSG) announcing his departure hours after Sunday's 1-1 draw at Everton in the Merseyside derby.
"I have worked every day to represent the club to the best of my ability, to develop both individual players and a team that the club's magnificent fans can be proud of," added Rodgers (watch his last press conference as Liverpool manager below).
"There have been some very memorable moments during my time at Liverpool and I would like to thank all of the players for their hard work and commitment.
"The current squad is one in transition, but they have some real talent and are showing a strong sense of togetherness.
"I expect to see them continue to grow and develop over the coming weeks and I wish them and my successor well for the rest of the season."
The current squad is one in transition, but they have some real talent and are showing a strong sense of togetherness. I expect to see them continue to grow and develop over the coming weeks
Former Borussia Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp and former Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti are the favourites to succeed Rodgers, with British press reports on Monday claiming Liverpool have already made contact with Klopp.
Rodgers said he wanted to thank "Fenway Sports Group, the Liverpool directors, in particular Ian Ayre, my coaching staff, the staff throughout the club, the volunteers, the academy staff and its young players".
He reserved a mention for the "amazing Liverpool fans" and suggested that he felt no ill feelings towards the FSG hierarchy of John W Henry, Tom Werner and Mike Gordon despite their decision to sack him.
"They gave me this great opportunity and even though we will no longer be working together, I am sure our relationship and friendship will continue into the future," he said.
Meanwhile, Germany's former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann believes Klopp is the "ideal" candidate to replace Rogers.
Klopp, 48, has been out of work since stepping down as Dortmund coach at the end of last season.
Hamann, who was part of the Liverpool team who won the 2005 Champions League final and now works as a pundit in Germany, believes his fellow German is the man to re-awaken Merseyside's sleeping giants.
"It must be a coach of international standing. The two who are being most widely mentioned are Ancelotti and Klopp.
"I think Juergen Klopp would be the more appropriate," Hamann said.
"The emotions in Liverpool need to be awakened.
"The people have lost faith in the team and it is important that someone comes who rouses the people again and gets things going.
"Juergen Klopp, who lives out his passion and love for the game, would fit wonderfully to Liverpool's mentality. He would be the ideal solution for me."
Klopp led Dortmund to back-to-back Bundesliga titles in 2011 and 2012, the year they won the domestic double after routing Bayern Munich 5-2 in the German Cup final when Robert Lewandowski scored a hat-trick against his future employers.
