Rodgers pens new Swansea deal

Swansea City manager Brendan Rodgers has signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract with the Welsh club.

Rodgers, recently named Premier League manager of the month for January, originally signed a one-year rolling contract with the Swans but has now committed himself until 2015.

The former Watford and Reading boss achieved promotion from the Championship in his first season at Swansea, guiding them past the Royals in the playoff final.

And the Welsh side have enjoyed an impressive start to life in the top flight, climbing to 10th place in the Premier League table.

“I’m delighted to sign the new deal,” Rodgers told Swansea’s official website.

“I hope the club and supporters feel it is still a good fit for everyone.”

“I’ve been very pleased with my work over the last 19 months. I can only promise that over the next three-and-a-half years I will continue to fight for the club and its people to help us become a sustainable Premier League club.”

“I very much appreciate what Swansea as a city, a club and supporters have given me and my family over the last 19 months, so signing the new contract was one of the easiest decisions of my life.”

“My determination to bring more and continued success on and off the pitch is an ongoing process, while I recognise the responsibility of carrying out my duties for the club with values of integrity, honour and passion.”

“These values allow me to focus on my overall mission which is to ‘inspire the city’ and I’m very proud to continue to fight in the great name of Swansea City.”

Rodgers also admitted that not even he had expected the immediate success the Swans have enjoyed.

“I couldn’t have dreamt of things going much better when I came into the club,” he said. “You are normally judged objectively over time, but I was aware that I needed to make an impact in a much shorter period.”

“However, both the club and myself have grown hand in hand – and the story continues.”

The 39-year-old, who turned down the chance to manage Northern Ireland following the departure of Nigel Worthington, was labelled ‘one of the best young managers around’ by Swansea chairman Huw Jenkins.

“It’s very good news,” Jenkins said. “We are under no illusions about the fact that we have got one of the best young managers around working for our club.”

“Brendan has shown what he is capable of over the last couple of seasons and what he has done for us has been very pleasing.”

“He is fully behind and supports the philosophy of the club and how we want to work. His personality and immense qualities highlight the importance of finding the right person to work with us to take the club forward.”

“He is very important to us and that’s not going to change, so it was very, very important to get the contract sorted out.”