Jordon Ibe has paid tribute to Brendan Rodgers and revealed his shock when the former Liverpool boss was axed.

Rodgers was sacked by the Reds just after the derby draw at Everton on October 4, with Jurgen Klopp having since stepped into the Reds hotseat.

Ibe has spoken of the influence Rodgers had on his development and hailed the courage of the former boss to blood the winger as a teenager.

“Brendan put me in the first team and gave me a debut when I was just 17,” Ibe told the Liverpool Echo.

“Not many managers in the Premier League would do that. He helped me to come through and he’s done the same for other players here.

“One of the biggest areas that he developed in my game was how I made forward runs. Before Brendan started working with me I probably wasn’t getting them exactly right.

“The other thing was the freedom he gave me. As a young player that is great to have.

“It was a bit of a shock to hear he had gone. With it happening a few hours after the derby game there was no real chance to say a proper goodbye.”

read more<<<<<http://newsafricanow.com/2015/11/ibe-thanks-rodgers-for-liverpool-chance/