Tuesday 6 October 2015 20:05, UK
Former Liverpool midfielder Dietmar Hamann believes compatriot Jurgen Klopp will be a hit among the club's fans, should he be appointed as manager at Anfield.
Liverpool are looking for their fifth manager in five years after Rodgers' three-year tenure was brought to an end following Sunday's Merseyside derby.
Klopp is the now odds-on favourite to replace the Northern Irishman and Hamann, who enjoyed a trophy-laden seven-year spell on Merseyside, believes it could the start of a burgeoning relationship between the manager, players and fans.
He told Sky Sports News HQ: "At Liverpool, it is pretty important the fans take to you and they will take to him from day one.
"He will interact with them, he will try to be one of them and that's why I see it being a pretty successful partnership.
"He would be a very good appointment, he would certainly be my choice out of the managers who are in the running for the Liverpool job because he has got a passion and a love for the game that would fit in well.
"It's a good time to take over Liverpool because in the last nine or 10 years one League Cup is all the club has to show for. They have only had one season in the last six in the Champions League and clearly things have not been good enough.
"You've got to create the emotion again as that is a big part of the Liverpool football club, it's a big part of his management style and I feel he would be a good fit."
Asked whether he thought Klopp's managerial philosophy would suit Liverpool, Hamann added: "He likes to play a very energetic game with young teams. That was a big trademark of his management style and the playing style at Borussia Dortmund, a club he transformed in a number of years.
At Liverpool, it is pretty important the fans take to you and they will take to him from day one. He will interact with them, he will try to be one of them and that's why I see it being a pretty successful partnership.
"Klopp wants to bring young players through, he doesn't mind working with young players. Some of the players he brought through at Dortmund have been some of the most talented or most sought players in the world.
"He turned a lot of virtually unknown players into world-class players. So these two things combined will be a very good fit for Liverpool and, considering the personnel that are already at Anfield, I think he will be a successful manager."
With Klopp seemingly on the verge of moving to Anfield, the focus has turned to who he will bring to work with him, with calls for a former Liverpool player to be included in his coaching setup.
Asked whether he thought an ex-Liverpool player should be included among Klopp's backroom staff, Hamann, who has been linked with such a position himself, added: "I don't think it is necessary, he is a very successful manager.
"He had a good spell at Mainz which attracted interest from Dortmund and then he had a successful seven-year spell there where he transformed the team that nearly got relegated into German league and cup winners and Champions League finalists.
"I don't think it is necessary to have a former player on his coaching staff, he likes to work with his trusted coaching team. There is talk that one or two of his assistants will come with him to Liverpool if he signs for the club."
