LIVERPOOL boss Brendan Rodgers has classed his Liberty Stadium reception today as "irrelevant".
Rodgers returns to former club Swansea City this afternoon for the first time since leaving for Anfield in May.
And, despite leading Swansea into the Premier League in his first season in charge and guiding them to mid-table safety in his second, his exit might provoke a bitter welcome from some home fans today.
"It is a real special place, Swansea," said Rodgers, who saw his new side beaten by his old one in the Capital One Cup at Anfield last month.
"I spent two fantastic years there and had a wonderful rapport with the supporters.
"The club was brilliant for me and hopefully I gave them something back while I was there.
"I never said I was going to be there for many years, but it took a truly unbelievable club like Liverpool to draw me away. Whatever reception I get is irrelevant.
"The important thing is I know the good people there and I am sure time will heal any bad thoughts. But we are going there to keep our (seven-match) unbeaten run in the league going."
Fired by the goals of Luis Suarez, the Premier League's top marksman, Liverpool appear to have turned the corner after the trickiest of starts.
Last weekend's 3-0 home victory over Wigan on the back of a 1-1 draw at Chelsea has resulted in Liverpool's longest unbeaten sequence since last November.
Only Manchester City have gone longer without losing and, having played all the sides in the top six, the fixture list should now be slightly kinder to Rodgers.
"I felt the opening period was always going to be difficult for us; a new manager, new ideas and some tough fixtures," he said. "There have been a lot of change over the course of the summer, but it is much smoother now and there is a real spurt around the club.
"We'll get even stronger in the second half of the season, because we'll get better in our ways of working and get a better understanding of what we're trying to achieve in terms of the team.
"Where we're at in May will define how good a season we've had," he added.
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