By Scott McDermott
He’s the only man privileged enough to be allowed into the inner sanctum of BOTH Old Firm gaffers. Swansea City legend Alan Curtis got to see the work of Brendan Rodgers and Russell Martin close up at the Liberty Stadium during their spells in charge of the Welsh club. In 2010, he was invited on to Rodgers’ backroom staff at the Swans as they created history by reaching the Premier League. By the time Martin arrived as manager 11 years later, Curtis was honorary President and got a unique insight into what made him tick. The 71-year-old was hugely impressed by the two bosses who will now go head-to-head in Glasgow at Celtic and Rangers . Record Sport caught up with Curtis to find out what Rodgers and Martin are like as people, as coaches – and why this season’s derbies could be the most attractive Old Firm games EVER. When Alan Curtis approached Brendan Rodgers on his arrival at Swansea with his arm out – he expected a firm handshake from the club’s new gaffer. Instead, the Welsh icon got an almighty bear HUG. And after their pair’s first embrace at the Liberty Stadium, Curtis knew they had a special boss at the helm. He wasn’t disappointed as Rodgers – who had arrived from Reading – didn’t just take the club to the promised land of the Premier League. He created a culture at the Swans, which is still in place now. In fact, when managers like Russell Martin turned up years later, they were just trying to continue an ethos and style which Rodgers started. Curtis is a Swans legend having spent 11 years at the club over THREE different spells. And he rates the Celtic manager as the best his club has EVER had. He told Record Sport : “When Brendan arrived, he wasn’t obliged to involve me or keep me on. But that tells you what he’s like as a person. Some people might have felt threatened by me. It’s happened before, I’ve been shunted by people who didn’t want me anywhere near the manager. “But Brendan took me at face value and we got on great. So much so, we still message each other now. When he arrived at Swansea, it was a bit of a left-field appointment – we didn’t know too much about him. But I always remember, a couple of months before, his Watford team beat us 2-0. “Brendan came in afterwards and said: ‘I have to be honest, we won 2-0 and that’s what the game’s all about. But I want my team to play the way YOU just did’. Watford were more direct than us. But I thought, what a good impression Brendan made. “Eventually he came to us and made a fantastic impact. When he walked in, I went to shake his hand and he put his arms around my neck giving me a big hug. So I warmed to him straight away. “Brendan has an aura about him and he’s a winner. He has the perfect mix. He likes having a laugh and joke – but there’s a line you don’t cross with Brendan. There were a few times at Swansea when he’d absolutely lay into the team or individuals within it. “I thought: ‘Wow, where did that come from’? But he’s got such high standards.” Before Rodgers got to Swansea, they’d enticed the likes of Roberto Martinez and Paulo Sousa to be their manager. And after the Northern Irishman was poached by Liverpool in 2012, he was followed by bosses like Michael Laudrup, Paul Clement, Carlos Carvalhal, Graham Potter, Steve Cooper – and Martin. But Rodgers’ achievement of getting them to England’s top flight makes him stand on his own, according to Curtis. He said: “The football we played in those two years under Brendan was unbelievable. It was something we had never seen before at Swansea. “In our first year in the Premier League, we felt we could go anywhere and give ANY team a game. He makes everyone around him better. Not just players, but us as coaches as well. “He never settles, he always wants to be better. When you look at all the managers we’ve had over the last 15 years or so, they’ve all gone on to do well. “Starting with Roberto, of course, who is now in charge of Portugal. But Brendan was probably the best we’ve had. When it comes to players, it’s John Toshack. But as a coach, Brendan is the top man. “When he left the fans were devastated. We knew he couldn’t turn down Liverpool. I was on holiday in Italy when he rang me to tell me he’d agreed to go. He took a couple of our staff with him to Anfield. “But typically with Brendan, he said: ‘Alan, I enquired about taking you but Swansea wanted too much money’. Even then, his sense of humour was brilliant.” Alan Curtis believes Russell Martin was only a couple of players away from becoming a Swansea City LEGEND. The Welsh icon believes that’s all it would have taken for the current Rangers boss to have the Swans challenging for promotion to the Premier League. And given the fact Martin had created history for the club with their FOUR derby victories over Cardiff City – a bit more backing from the club’s owners could have elevated him to being one of their best-ever bosses. Curtis was Swansea’s honorary President when Martin arrived from MK Dons in 2021. He regularly watched him work on the training pitch and was at every game while he was in charge. Curtis knew Martin had something special – and not just because of the style of football he had Swansea playing. No manager in the club’s history had ever completed a double over Cardiff in one season. But Martin did it TWICE. Curtis told Record Sport: “Russell had a great record in derby games at Swansea. It’s amazing that in all the years we’ve played Cardiff no-one had ever done the double over them in the league. “Russell came in and did it for the first time. Then the following year he did it again. So he did the double Double for us against Cardiff, which made him a hero with the fans. “My God, they loved him for that. They still talk about those victories now. Russell was the type of manager that we’ve always gone for at Swansea. A young coach who wants to play in a certain style. “Immediately, he had us dominating games and trying to strangle teams with possession. And to be fair, he did it. He was really getting somewhere with us before he left for Southampton. “Looking back, Russell wasn’t backed enough in the transfer market when he was here. We were only a player or two short from really challenging and making a push for the play-offs to get back up. “The problem is, the longer you leave it, the more difficult it is. When you lose the parachute money, it can start to unravel a bit. And unfortunately, I think Russell was a victim of that.” It’s no surprise to Curtis that Martin has gone on to earn a huge opportunity at a club like Rangers. Because ironically, when he was at Swansea he felt the similarities between him and Brendan Rodgers were striking. Curtis said: “I enjoyed watching Russell work. He is really similar to Brendan. The football he had us playing was like a different version of what Brendan had at Swansea years earlier. “When Russell was at Southampton, we actually played against his team. Swansea are obviously a team that likes to keep possession. But we couldn’t get the ball off them. “That’s the impact he’d had here. As a man, Russell was brilliant with me and I still text him now. I’m sure he will thrive at Rangers. He’s played for the club so he’s aware of what it means. He will relish the opportunity to challenge Brendan and try to be successful there.” Derbiesbetween Celtic and Rangers are usually about blood and guts – and who wants to win most. But Alan Curtis reckons that with Brendan Rodgers and Russell Martin in opposite dug-outs, Old Firm games will now be for the football purists. Having worked with both men at Swansea City, he’s seen their styles up close. Curtis believes Rodgers and Martin are cut from the same cloth when it comes to how they want their teams to play. That’s why he says the Old Firm derbies this season could be among the best we’ve ever seen. And Curtis claims the winner could be decided by moments of brilliance. He told Record Sport : “I’ll be fascinated to see how it goes up in Glasgow this season, watching Brendan and Russell go up against each other. “The styles at Celtic and Rangers will be so similar. They’ll both want to dominate the ball. “The Old Firm derbies should be great games. Who would have thought we’d say that? But if you’re a football purist, those are the games for you this season. “I’m sure there will still be the blood and thunder and competitiveness of a derby. “People demand that in Glasgow. But with Brendan and Russell, they’ll definitely want to play well too. “With such similar styles, I think whoever wins it will probably be decided by individuals.”