Liverpool’s Philippe Coutinho: Brendan Rodgers is a great manager

Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho

Philippe Coutinho has hailed Brendan Rodgers as a “great manager” ahead of Liverpool’s clash against Manchester City on Sunday.

The Reds boss has masterminded Liverpool’s Premier League title bid this season, with the Merseyside outfit two points ahead of second-placed Chelsea with five games remaining.

He worries about the players personally too and that is why he is one of the best managers in the Premier League

Philippe Coutinho/cite>

Coutinho has scored four goals and made six assists in 28 Premier League appearances this term after Rodgers signed the Brazilian in a £8.5m deal from Inter Milan in January 2013.

And the 21-year-old midfielder talked up Rodgers’s man-management skills ahead of their potential title decider.

“He is a great manager – a manager who worries about his players and encourages the best from them,” Coutinho is quoted as saying by the Daily Star.

“He worries about the players personally too and that is why he is one of the best managers in the Premier League.

“Brendan tells us to forget the excitement and the expectations when we are out on the pitch.”