The Northern Irishman was appointed youth-team manager at Chelsea in 2004 under Jose Mourinho's stewardship before going on to be promoted to reserve-team boss in 2006. The impression he made at the London club proved a springboard for his first senior managerial role at Watford, before a difficult spell at Reading saw him head to south Wales and play-off glory. The 38-year-old is now set to visit the Bridge on the back of the Swans' first Premier League win against West Brom, and has no interest in what former boss Mourinho referred to as "parking the bus", even though his side will be underdogs. He said on Tuesday: "We need to respect the opponent, they have world class players. But we went to Arsenal last week and nearly got a result, and they are playing with a similar style to us. "And for an hour against Manchester City we did very well against one of the top sides in Europe. "We are learning all the time and we know you have to be collectively right, we are not naive enough to think we can open everything up like we do at home, but we are still going to try and maintain our idea to control possession and dominate with the ball." Although Rodgers will be looking to spring a surprise at his alma mater, he is also looking forward to catching up with some familiar faces and is grateful for the opportunity he was given. "They are a great club, I am really looking forward to it," he said. "I have some wonderful professional memories of my time there. It was arguably the greatest period in their history during my time there over four-and-a-half years. "If I had not been there I would not be stood here today, it's thanks to the opportunity they gave me at that level. "I still have many friends there and I will be proud to take a team back there, but we are going there looking for a result."
