THE international break will give Brendan Rodgers the chance to fulfil his duties as a father, both real and surrogate. His flesh and blood, Anton, plays with Swindon Town and a rare free Saturday will give Rodgers the chance to take in their League One clash at home to Charlton Athletic.

It won’t be the only match he will attend during a short busman’s holiday down south. Rodgers will also be at Wembley the previous night, sitting proudly in the stand like a parent at their child’s graduation. The Northern Irishman has no vested interest in the outcome of a World Cup qualifying match between England and Scotland but will look down on a number of players on both sides who have benefited from his tutelage.

There will be the much-vaunted return of Scott Brown to the Scotland midfield, while Craig Gordon, James Forrest and Leigh Griffiths could also feature for the visitors at some point. Then in the England camp there is the raft of players who Rodgers worked with during his three years as Liverpool manager, possibly including Daniel Sturridge, Nathaniel Clyne, Glen Johnson and Adam Lallana.

Of all his former and current protégés, however, perhaps it is Jordan Henderson who will find himself most under the spotlight come kick-off on Friday night. Henderson was a Kenny Dalglish signing from Sunderland in June 2011 and was almost sold to Fulham upon Rodgers’ arrival at Anfield the following summer. Both manager and player would have cause to be grateful that the proposed transfer never came to pass.

Henderson has gone on to establish himself at Liverpool, becoming first vice-captain and then captain when Steven Gerrard left the club last summer. When interim England manager Gareth Southgate took the bold decision to omit Wayne Rooney from their recent qualifying game against Slovenia, it was to Henderson he handed the captain’s armband. There is every chance the former Sunderland player will reprise that role against Scotland on Friday night.

“Jordan’s a brilliant professional,” said Rodgers. “He’s a worker and a great boy who wants to improve his game. Technically he’s strong, can play short or long, can score goals and has been playing more of a controlling role for Liverpool.

“The first year was maybe a wee bit difficult for him but Kenny always had belief in him and played him. His progress just came with time. He came into a big club and that first year is always difficult, even more so if you come in with a big fee and salary.

“People sign for a club and are automatically expected to play out their skin right away. But there are so many reasons why a player can’t or doesn’t settle. Some, like Coutinho, settle well and are brilliant from the start. But for the British boys, it can be tough. But Jordan has shown with time he’s a top-class player. I’ve had many conversations with him on the training ground and at my house about the role. I took him to my house and told him he would be captain of Liverpool and I think it was a real proud moment for him. He’s never ever forgotten that.”

Gerrard’s infamous slip against Chelsea is usually held up as the defining moment in Liverpool falling short in their attempts to win the Barclays Premier League two years ago, but Rodgers feels the loss of Henderson to a three-game ban towards the end of that season was just as significant.

“The biggest compliment I can give Jordan is that we would probably have won the league if he hadn’t been suspended,” he added. “With five games to go when we beat Man City, right at the very, very end of that game that we won 3-2, he got sent off. Virtually at the last whistle. We looked at lots of different things for us not winning the title and that was a key moment for us. We lost the guy who could really press the game. It was all about intensity and pressure in those few seasons I was there and we lost that from him. That’s how important he was to that team at that time.”

Being captain of the England football team can often seem like an onerous responsibility, especially given the team’s myriad failings over the years. Rodgers, though, believes Henderson’s shoulders are broad enough to carry that burden.

“I think if you can captain Liverpool then you can certainly captain England,” added the Celtic manager. “It’s a huge responsibility. When you’re at a massive club being the captain is a job in itself. For some players that can overwhelm them. Being the captain of the huge institutions, it’s not just about the on-field stuff. There’s a huge responsibility off the field as well.

“He was adapting to that in his first season [at Liverpool] and then he’s really grown into it. He’s a wonderful ambassador and role model, someone who has come through the academy system [at Sunderland], got the big-money move as a young player, took a bit of time to settle in his first year, was brilliant for me in that midfield for a couple of seasons, and was the driving force in the team. He’s gradually just got better and better.

“There is significant pressure, of course, but if you think of his role model as captain, Stevie Gerrard, at club level he has seen how he copes with it. He will have seen how David Beckham, who was a brilliant captain, really coped with it. So I think he will have been inspired by those other leaders. If the armband comes to him there is no question that he will cope with it.”

A squad increasingly filled with Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur players has had a telling influence on the dynamic of England’s play, believes Rodgers. “I think England have gone back to what the British game is about, which is high intensity, tempo and work rate. And then when you can add the skill element to that that can be huge. The level England operate at is so high because of the nature of the competition. The Premier League is so great, their players never get an easy game.”