The Swansea City manager will experience his first South Wales derby on Sunday lunchtime at the Cardiff City Stadium.<\/p>\n
Leading his side into the game in 3rd place, Rodgers declared the game ‘his kind of game’ and acknowledges supporters’ feelings about the game<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is my type of game,\u201d Rodgers told the Western Mail<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can\u2019t deny these games are the same because they\u2019re not, with all the emotion.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never played in any derbies, and, when I was in charge at Watford and Reading, we never had any because our rivals were in different divisions.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo doubt that\u2019s why I\u2019ve got the excitement I have for this one.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy uncle lived here when Swansea were moving up through the divisions, I was back in Ireland so I had a feel for the club.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was listening to stories about John Toshack as a boy back in Ireland and that\u2019s when Swansea first came to light for me.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s quite a long way to here, a fair old hike, so from the outside Swansea is a little place tucked away.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not sure Sky have even been here this season, Wales for them must stop at Cardiff.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo until you come here you don\u2019t understand this is a big club.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe first day I arrived at Swansea the number of press was incredible.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou are going to one of two clubs representing a nation and as you go along you get a feel from the supporters.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve moved here, thrown myself into life here and then you get the feeling from people about their passion for the club.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen this club progresses, and there\u2019s no doubt it will get to the Premier League, when it does you\u2019ll really see the benefits of this wonderful place.<\/p>\n
\u201cEvery derby is always special because of the history.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter if it\u2019s Reading and Oxford, Celtic or Rangers or the Milan derby.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey are all big games and it\u2019s the supporters that make them. In this part of the world there\u2019s a real passion for football, a real inherent love of the game, so I don\u2019t need to be told what it means.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Cardiff and Swansea supporters this is the biggest derby in the world.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do remind the players they represent the supporters that are there paying their money to watch them, and how fortunate we are \u2013 but they already know that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a game with the heart and the passion where we\u2019re representing the supporters, but it\u2019s just as important we keep our head and keep control with the way we play.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe both are good teams with great talents, but I\u2019m also looking at the longer term.<\/p>\n
\u201cGreat individuals will win you games, but it\u2019s the best teams that will win you championships.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a team ethic that we have here and if we move away from that in any game that will be our downfall.\u201d<\/p>\n