OMNISPORT

Former Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers revealed he has turned down five job opportunities, including old club Swansea City, since his sacking at Anfield in October.

Rodgers was strongly linked with the Swansea job after Garry Monk was axed in December and he has confirmed that his former side were one of the teams he spoke to.

But the 43-year-old reiterated that he has no plans to take another job until the end of the season and believes his time out of the game will prove beneficial when he makes his return to management.

"I have had five opportunities since I left Liverpool to get back into work, all at clubs I really respect," Rodgers told beIN SPORTS. "But I just felt I wanted to take some time out. It is very intense when you are in the game.

"I spoke to Huw Jenkins, the chairman and people I know well, but I made it clear and I was pretty open. Swansea is a wonderful club and there were also a couple of other Premier League clubs I could have gone back to.

"But I wasn't going to be available to come into a club before the summer. I enjoy the scrutiny and life of being at the leading edge of the game, but the opportunity that presented itself when I left Liverpool gave me the chance to go away for the first time in five years.

"I can sit and reflect on how I work and can improve and I hope my next club will benefit from that. I had the same situation when I left Reading in December [2009].

"I had a bit of time out and my next club, Swansea, benefited from that and it went well, as it did at Liverpool for a period. So I hope this will be the same and then I will look to get back somewhere by pre-season."

Rodgers stresses that he is receptive to job offers in England or abroad and will not restrict himself only to opportunities at top-tier clubs.

He continued: "I am open. It is where I feel I can go in and make a difference: a job that will excite me. 

"It doesn't have to necessarily be at a top club. It can be at home or abroad. It is just about finding the right opportunity, one that will excite me to go in and somewhere I can help make better."