Pardew: Rodgers will succeed at RedsBy ESPN Staff

By ESPN Staff
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has backed his old student Brendan Rodgers to make a success of his spell as Liverpool manager.

PA PhotosBrendan Rodger has been giving Liverpool's youngsters a chance

Pardew handed Rodgers his chance as a coach during his days as Reading manager, and he has been delighted by the progress his former understudy has made as he has risen up the coaching ladder.
Now Pardew is preparing to go head-to-head with Rodgers at Anfield on Sunday and he has been gushing in his praise of the youthful Irishman.
"I always thought he would make a great coach and there were a couple of clubs that would have liked to have taken him but, by then, he had moved on and found himself good jobs," stated the Newcastle boss.
"He's someone I've always thought would do well. He has the right attributes to be a teacher-type coach-manager, which is what he is.
"What he has is this vision about how he would like to play. You need to have all the tools for that and I have got to be honest, I don't think he has them, for whatever reason.
"In the last window, if I'm honest, I didn't think he got all the tools he needs at that level and I think everyone can see that, that they need a couple of extra players in that team."
Pardew suggests his old pal is under more pressure to deliver success at Liverpool than he is at Newcastle, even though he has succeeded in raising expectation among the Tyneside faithful in his 23 months in charge at St James' Park.
"There's more pressure at Liverpool because of the stature and the trophies they've won down the years," added the Newcastle boss. "You have to say that Liverpool, historically, are a step ahead of Newcastle, but the moment, they are team evolving and Brendan should be given time to get them moving forward.
"That said, they still have some fantastic players. Steven Gerrard and Luis Suarez are two of the best players in the Premier League, so we must make sure we are on top of our game.
"What we see on Sunday is two top teams with great histories and we have to make sure we don't get lost in the emotion of this game. They way Liverpool build a game up in the moments before kick-off, you have to make sure that doesn't distract you.
"I think it's good for English football for Liverpool and Newcastle to be doing well. We are still striving to be a top six team at the moment and to do that, we have to go to places like Anfield and do well."