55km NORTH OF BELFAST sits a sleepy fishing village preparing itself for an unprecedented deluge of visitors.

It’s all owed to Carnlough’s most famous son, Brendan Rodgers, potentially becoming the first Northern Irishman in 101 years to win a First Division title.

The eldest of five boys, Rodgers was born to a Protestant mother, Christina, and a Catholic father, Malachy, in January 1973.

Rodgers attended a Catholic school, St Patrick’s College, in Ballymena — 26km from home — and while a competent hurler, there was only ever going to be one sport for Rodgers.

An idoliser of Brazil’s 1978 team, Rodgers was spotted by Star United manager Arthur McClean — who also discovered Michael O’Neill and Michael Hughes — in 1984.

“Brendan was a very good player”, McClean told TheScore.ie. “Even at a young age, he was a little bit better than the rest and had great natural ability. We taught the players to use whatever ability they had and then we slotted them into the team to play along with that. To be honest, you can’t coach natural ability; you need to have it and Brendan had it from very early on. People can tell you that they helped create a player but if someone has that kind of natural ability, you can’t coach it. You just have to use it to bring the best out of him and improve his game.

“Brendan was a very dedicated young man and was always keen to learn. He would always listen and wasn’t one of those lads who would just sit and not look interested. He was always interested in what you had to say.

“Nowadays, people don’t travel that far to come to training. Sometimes, even if it’s on their doorstep, they wouldn’t be interested. That dedication was all down to Brendan and his father, Malachy. His father was very dedicated to taking him to wherever he was going. It was a much different time in so many ways. The last time Brendan was at the Milk Cup with Chelsea, I was talking to him at one of the pitches behind the main Showgrounds arena. It’s now a 3G pitch, but he remembers a time when it was grass and how bad it was on a rainy winter night.”

James Crombie / INPHO James Crombie / INPHO / INPHO

A promising left-footed defender, Rodgers quickly impressed McClean — who was certain that Rodgers would leave for England after graduating into Ballymena United’s reserve squad as a teenager.

While the youngster’s prodigious talent was crucial to that prediction, Rodgers already possessed the leadership qualities that he was to become synonymous with decades later.

“When Brendan was playing, he was always talking. Even when he wasn’t on the pitch, he was talking! He was very astute and loved to attack, but was very relaxed as a player. He never got flustered and was very calm. Ability wise, and character wise, you knew he had something different compared to everyone else. At that time, you weren’t looking at him becoming a coach and if he hadn’t got the injury that he did at Reading, he would’ve become a top-class player in England. In his mind, Brendan just wanted to play at the highest level and he knew that he had a bit of ability and wanted to get as far as he could.”

The teenage defender’s remarkably mature performances even led to a trial with Manchester United in 1988, with Rodgers having also represented Northern Ireland’s schools side seven times.

Before Rodgers departed for Reading, three years later, the teenager spent time with Ballymena United’s reserves under the watchful eye of first-team manager Alex McKee.

“The first thing I remember about Brendan was his head of blonde curls,” McKee told TheScore.ie. “He was the key player for Ballymena in the Milk Cup and then he went on to progress into the reserves and onto Reading when he left school. We went to that Milk Cup and we also used to play a small five-a-side competition in Coleraine sports hall, which acted as a subsidiary for the teams that went out early in the competition. Ballymena won it and I can still see Brendan in that team. They’re great memories.

“He was a very promising player and was the most willing lad that I ever worked with. He had a lovely left foot. Brendan played on the left side and no matter what you asked of him, he was such a dream to work with. When I think of how much football has changed since then, it’s unbelievable how he applied himself.

“Initially, Brendan was quite shy and quiet. He never ever challenged anyone and just tried to do what you asked of him. As he progressed into the team, he displayed certain leadership qualities. Brendan, whatever he decided to do, would achieve it. That’s the type of guy he was: he applied himself so well.”

Rodgers maintained his one-hour round trip commute from Carnlough up to three times a week.

Such was the youngster’s dedication, Rodgers would even stay overnight at his school, the nearby St Patrick’s College, to maintain his marked progress. It’s a passion that’s never left Rodgers.

“Brendan would be that committed and, if he didn’t make his own way, then we’d leave him back to Carnlough. He was very dedicated and that just shows in what he’s done up to now. I have a lot of respect for him and when he was at Chelsea, he brought an under-16 team over to the Milk Cup. I went down to one of their matches in Ballymoney and he spotted me in the crowd. He came over, took me into the dressing room, and was just a wonderful guy.

“After he went to Reading and came back over, he was looking at schoolboy international football. He was just casting an eye around Ballymena and it was then that I noticed how much he had progressed and changed. Brendan had all the qualities and talked with great authority about young footballers going across from Northern Ireland to England. He was able to rattle off the names of guys and not only the boys who made it, but also the boys who struggled. He was very knowledgeable, very positive, and very well informed.”

Rodgers’ dream of playing at the highest level in England was crushed by a genetic knee injury at the age of just 20.

Admiration

However, rather than falling out of love with football altogether, Rodgers worked in a John Lewis warehouse alongside a part-time coaching role with Reading’s Academy.

“I’ve got great admiration for Reading, because they must have seen something in him at that age. His playing career was finished, but they kept him on and looked after him. They gave him the opportunity, so I think those leadership qualities must have been strong at that stage. He was put in charge of their youth set-up and he just progressed from there.

“It gives me great satisfaction just to see him standing there on the touchline, looking so assured and composed. When I look at the style of football his teams play, it certainly wasn’t always like that when he was a 14-year-old but he accepted that. From his early days as a player, I know that he can stand like that because he knows he has put in the work and effort to get his team on the field.”

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