Brendan Rodgers came close to securing Premier League title glory at Liverpool but claims to be a better manager at Scottish champions Celtic.
The Northern Irishman saw the Reds fall agonisingly short in their efforts to take the English top-flight crown in 2013-14.
Within 18 months he was relieved of his duties at Anfield and forced to take a break from management until linking up with Celtic ahead of the 2016-17 campaign.
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He has rebuilt his reputation in Glasgow, securing Premiership and League Cup crowns to be shortlisted for the PFA Scotland Manager of the Year award, and believes he has improved as a coach.
“Coming to Scotland means I’m a better manager now than when I left Liverpool,” Rodgers told reporters.
“There are two reasons for that. The first is that my players have made me better and the second is the quality of the other coaches, who have all posed different problems for me.
“I’ve been impressed by a lot of the guys up here. They might not have the facilities and they don’t have the money the clubs down south do but they manage to find a way to make it work.
“All the tactics and the styles are all different and I’m a better manager for having dealt with that and I’ll be better still a year from now.
“What you have in Scotland is an unpredictability with surfaces – and I’ve already said you don’t get good games on artificial turf – and that can affect performances and results.
“You also have more varied systems. And no matter how much or how little they’re being paid, the players up here always give their all and there is a physical aspect to that.
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“We’ve all seen over the years that big teams can go to lesser teams and find it very tough and that’s what you get here every week.
“I’ve been impressed by how my players have coped with that.”
Celtic still have the opportunity to complete a domestic treble this season, with Aberdeen awaiting them in the Scottish Cup final on May 27.
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