Kolo Toure has thanked Celtic and his former Parkhead boss Brendan Rodgers for setting him on the road that has led to his first job in management as the Ivorian was introduced to the media as the new Wigan Athletic boss.
Toure finished his playing career at the Hoops after Rodgers took him to the east end of Glasgow having worked together at Liverpool. The defender was used sparingly and hung up his boots after just one season, though he remained at the Scottish Premiership champions in a coaching capacity. Toure then followed Rodgers to Leicester City where he was part of his coaching staff at the King Power Stadium, winning an FA Cup title along the way - and has now taken his first steps into management with the 41-year-old unveiled to the media at the DW Stadium, where he has succeeded Leam Richardson at the English Championship strugglers.
And Toure said: “I want to take this opportunity to thank Brendan Rodgers because he is my mentor really. I have been working and learning from him, and I want to thank him and his assistant Chris Davies and all the people from Leicester City and Celtic because that’s where I really started my coaching career.
“I finished my career as a football player and never had time off. I went straight to coaching with Brendan Rodgers. I’ve been with him for nearly five years now and it was a process for me. I knew being a good footballer doesn’t guarantee you will be a good coach or manager.
“I felt I had to work with a top manager which was Brendan to learn all the skills that a manager needs to make sure he can implement the best quality possible to give to his players and I’ve been doing that for five years. And when Wigan came you can’t turn that down when you’ve been waiting for five years.”
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