Jürgen Klopp has said Brendan Rodgers was not sacked by Liverpool for losing his "football brain" but possibly over a breakdown in his relationship with the Anfield hierarchy.
Rodgers faces his former club on Saturday for the first time since his dismissal when Leicester aim to halt Liverpool's imperious start to the Premier League season and run of 16 consecutive league wins.
The 46-year-old was sacked in October 2015 having failed to correct a downturn that commenced the previous campaign. Klopp, who succeeded Rodgers as Liverpool manager four days later, believes his predecessor's coaching acumen was never doubted at Anfield but a fracture behind the scenes may have contributed to his departure.
The Liverpool manager said: “Brendan’s quality could not be the reason because I know how Liverpool were playing before and they were flying. We played them with Dortmund (in a friendly in August 2014). We were not in the best shape that day and we lost 4-0. They played really well and I already respected him as a manager.
“For the public, when a manager gets the sack, they think he lost his football brain. That is not how it happened. It was not his quality as a coach.
"But of course, expectations and relationships, whatever, between who and who, if that does not work anymore the club has to make a decision. Brendan reached the level he reached – Chelsea assistant, Swansea manager, Liverpool manager – very young, then going to Celtic and being very successful. Going to Leicester just proves what I thought. I am not a bit surprised."
– Guardian
