Rodgers: We played for Gary

Swansea City’s home match against Aston Villa went ahead on Sunday as a mark of respect for Gary Speed, according to Brendan Rodgers.

Wales manager Speed was found dead in his Chester home earlier in the day, after reportedly committing suicide.

News of Speed’s passing reached the Liberty Stadium less than an hour before the English Premier League match, which ended in a 0-0 draw, was due to kick-off.

“It was such a bombshell,” Swansea manager Rodgers said.

“(Villa manager) Alex (McLeish) spoke to his players and I spoke to mine and it was so close that we decided from our end that we wanted to play as a mark of respect for Gary because he was a great man of football.”

“We (Rodgers and Speed) spoke a lot because of our respective jobs and he was a true football legend.”

“It is just so sad. He had been doing a fantastic job for Wales, and it’s a sad day for football.”

The contest was understandably subdued, and Rodgers felt the result was a reflection of the circumstances the match was played under.

“We will happily take our point,” he said.

“We weren’t at our best today and we weren’t helped by the changes we were forced to make.”

“But it would have been difficult to celebrate anything after such shocking news.”

When a minute’s silence for Speed transformed into respectful applause, Villa boss McLeish said he was concerned the emotion would be too much for some of his players.

“There was that minute’s silence that turned into applause and I was worried about losing (Shay) Given,” McLeish said.

The goalkeeper was a close friend of Speed’s; the two played together at Newcastle United, together with Jermaine Jenas.

“(Wales international) James Collins was white as a sheet and Jenas played as his (Speed’s) midfield partner at Newcastle so these guys were extremely distraught.”

“Shay told me about 10 minutes before I was due to give my team talk.”

“My blood ran cold and my players were very upset pre-match. I’m glad it didn’t affect their performance.”

“Shay showed his concentration and pulled off a great save when we needed it but it is a devastating loss for football and my heart goes out to Gary Speed’s family.”

“We would have understood if Swansea had wanted to cancel the game, we would certainly have agreed with that.”