Rodgers admits NI snub
But Swans boss fancies national job in the future
Last Updated: December 8, 2011 4:39pm
Brendan Rodgers: Committed to turning Swansea into an established Premier League side
Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers has confirmed he has turned down taking over his native Northern Ireland on a part-time basis.
Sky Sports revealed on Wednesday that Rodgers had snubbed the chance to replace previous coach Nigel Worthington who stepped down after their doomed Euro 2012 campaign.
The Irish Football Association approached Swans chairman Huw Jenkins over Rodgers' availability, but the 38-year-old quickly decided against the move.
He believes the IFA need to appoint a permanent boss ahead of their 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign.
But the County Antrim-born manager has not ruled out leading his country in the future.
Stance
"The job is a big job - something that is very important going forward for the development of football in the country."
Brendan Rodgers Quotes of the week
Rodgers said: "Northern Ireland approached the chairman and asked for permission to speak to me with regards to doing the job part-time. My stance was the same as it was a number of weeks ago.
"The job is a big job - something that is very important going forward for the development of football in the country. For me it's a full-time post.
"I didn't have to think about it for a long time - my focus is always with Swansea."
He added: "I would love to do it at some point in my career but at the moment, with the respect I have for Swansea, my concentration can only be on Swansea."
