Planet Swans ArchivesThe Swansea City manager is not just thinking about progress on the pitch but off it as well as he looks to not just lift the Swans into the Premier League but also to set the foundations for a strong future for the club.
He told the Evening Post "When I am 70 with my stick, I want to be able to walk with my wife around Mumbles or through Swansea and be able to look back and think that in the time we spent here, we helped the club grow
"I'm talking about trying to pull together the culture and the philosophy of the club.
"As well as the on-field stuff, I see that as a big part of the work that I do.
"And one of the biggest things for me is to get our own training ground.
"That's important for any club. But especially if you have a philosophy like ours. I think it's important to drip-feed things into your youngsters right the way though.
"Players have got to see it and they have to feel it, so that's a vital part of the legacy for me.
"I would like to have a successful team, of course, but also to secure a training ground that caters for all our teams. I see that as vital to the development of our club.
"We have a wonderful facility at the Glamorgan (Racket Club) and I have enjoyed working there," Rodgers adds.
"But it's not ours, just as the stadium is not ours, and I think we have to have something.
"That's not just for now but for the future and the generations of youngsters who are going to come through.
"If we want to have that philosophy being drip-fed to the kids in future decades, it starts now.
"Players like Joe Allen have come through and we have some excellent staff in the centre of excellence who work very hard," he said.
"But what we want to do is get them closer to the first team. Rather then the first team being here, the youth team there and the kids somewhere else, can we all be together?
"I know we're talking about one of the biggest clubs in the world in Barcelona but I'm talking about a scaled-down version.
"I read a comment (from Garry Monk) recently which was quite funny but also the reality," Rodgers says.
"It mentioned how we are the only club in the Championship where the players shower with the fans after training.
"If we are going to go through the levels in the years ahead, that's something we need to address.
"You can carry on doing what you have always done but then you will always be where you are.
"I think it's important to help the club move forward and the single biggest thing here is to get our own home."
