Walsall boss Michael Flynn full of admiration for Leicester's Brendan Rodgers ahead of FA Cup clash
Walsall boss Michael Flynn has made no secret of his love of Liverpool – and his admiration for former boss Brendan Rodgers.
As soon as Walsall were drawn against Leicester he said he was looking forward to meeting Rodgers and pitting his managerial wits against him.
The two go head-to-head at 12.30pm on Saturday at the Bescot Stadium and Flynn said he had nothing but respect for Rodgers and his achievements.
He said: “He is a great manager, the jobs he has done at Liverpool nearly winning the league, at Celtic, Swansea before then and now Leicester deserve praise.
“People say they are going through a bad patch in the league but you don’t become a bad manager overnight and he will come through it – hopefully after Saturday.”
Leicester are currently 14th in the Premier League table, just one point above the drop zone and only narrowly beat Gillingham in the third round.
But Flynn said his players’ mindsets would be to not get carried away with form or statistics.
He said: “They are full of internationals and probably have a squad of around 35 with quality through- out.
“On any given day they can turn it on and probably blow a team away – certainly one from a lower level.
“But we will prepare for this game like we would for any. We will look at the statistics, who might be playing for them, do our due diligence and prepare on the training ground.
“The preparation won’t be any different for the next game at Salford, just that in League Two you get a few more let-offs.”
Flynn has an enviable record as a manager in which he has never failed to reach the third round of the FA Cup.
It includes getting to the fifth round of the competition with Newport in 2018-19, where his side beat Leicester and Middlesbrough before going out at home to Manchester City.
And he has fond memories of the City tie, despite the result.
He said: “People go on about the pitch and the conditions at Rodney Parade where we played but it didn’t bother City that day.
“Phil Foden was immense – he scored two, – and they had (Riya) Mahrez, David Silva, Ederson, the team sheet was incredible, they went strong and blew us away but that’s what a quality team can do.”
