IT was a move akin to when Rafael Benitez decided to break up a pre-match evening in Leverkusen seven years ago by popping into a nearby Irish bar.

There were smirks aplenty as photographs soon spread across the internet of Brendan Rodgers enjoying a night out at celebrated Liverpool club Garlands.

But as an attempt to ingratiate himself with the city and the Anfield support, it was a job well and truly done for the new Liverpool manager.

“I won’t be in it every Saturday night I tell you!” laughs Rodgers. “And I probably won’t be in it for a few years yet!”

Even before a ball is kicked, the Northern Irishman is cannily trying to win over the hearts, minds and, most importantly, trust of a Liverpool support for whom uncertainty and instability have become the norm in recent years.

Four managers inside two years is testament to that.

Rodgers, though, is already placing the foundations to suggest he is in for the long haul. And few can contend he is not throwing himself fully at the task in hand.

“I think it’s important,” he says. “I’m someone of the people really. I’m someone who respects people and understands that this is a way of life here at the football club.

“When I went to Swansea they put me under no pressure to move. I could have stayed in Reading and driven up every day.

“I was there every day from the off, to get a sense of the people and the passion, a sense of the real warmth of the place.

“I’ve got many fantastic people who have given me a great welcome since I’ve been at Liverpool and that’s why I and my family have got our home here already.

“I throw my life into the people. It’s something that’s very important.”

Read those quotes unattributed and it could easily be ascertained as something Bill Shankly may have said.

A press briefing earlier this week saw Rodgers talk about the great nostalgia at Liverpool and the importance of being respectful to the past.

Rather than shirk the weight of the club’s sizeable history, the 39-year-old has instead chosen to embrace it.

Hence his decision to reintroduce the old ‘This Is Anfield’ sign that acted as a lucky charm for Liverpool during their halcyon days in the 1970s and 80s.

“For me, there are three elements really,” says Rodgers. “When you come into a football club, you need to have a real sense of the past, a sense of the present and a sense of the future.

“And the nostalgia around this football club is immense. I just felt that this was a sign and a symbol of what Liverpool was for many years.

“The sign was taken down in 1998 but it was there from 1974 until that point and the period of success within that was phenomenal.

“So for me, it’s a mark of the Anfield of old. We’re very much in the modern era but I think it's very important to remember the great past of this football club and the ‘This is Anfield’ sign is a massive part of that.”

Rodgers added: “My transition to Liverpool has been very, very smooth. I feel as if I’ve been here a lot longer. I think that’s where there’s a real hand in glove fit here for both.

“It’s probably the right time for a manager like myself to come in. It’s been really good. People have been brilliant. So hopefully we will move on.”

The first big assignment of the Northern Irishman’s reign arrives next week when Liverpool fly out to Boston to begin their tour of North America.

Based in Harvard University, Rodgers’ men will take on Toronto in Canada and Tottenham Hotspur in Baltimore.

But it’s the friendly against Roma that is the showpiece, the match part of the centenary celebrations of Fenway Park, home of baseball team Boston Red Sox and base for Liverpool’s owners Fenway Sports Group.

Rodgers, of course, will hope to have had a successful encounter with Roma before their July 26 clash with Liverpool closing in on a deal for their Italy international striker Fabio Borini.

Speaking earlier this week, Rodgers could not have been more effusive in his praise of the imminent arrival of his first major signing as Anfield manager.

“Hopefully we can close out one deal this week which will be a real exciting one for the club, one the supporters will absolutely love,” said the manager.

Certainly, Rodgers knows the player, having worked with Borini both at the Chelsea academy and during a loan spell at Swansea City last year in which the 21-year-old scored six goals in 12 outings and helped the South Walians win promotion to the Premier League.

But, should he sign in at Anfield, Borini must break with tradition given only three other Italians have appeared for Liverpool, none with any degree of success.

The forgotten man of that trio is Daniele Padelli, who was loaned to Liverpool from Sampdoria in the January 2007 transfer window having the previous month made his under-21 debut for Italy.

Padelli made just the solitary shaky appearance in a 2-2 home draw with Charlton Athletic in the last Premier League game of the 2006-07 season, with Pepe Reina and Jerzy Dudek not risked ahead of the Champions League final.

Andrea Dossena was the next to have a crack having arrived from Napoli, but often looked out of his depth and, despite memorable goals against Real Madrid and Manchester United in the space of four days, was shipped on inside 18 months.

And Alberto Aquilani – like Borini, a Roma player – was signed as a replacement for Xabi Alonso but struggled for fitness and form, and has spent the last two seasons back in Italy.

Aquilani, though, may yet have a part to play under Rodgers. Although just don’t expect to see the pair at Garlands any time soon.