He was released by manager Alan Buckley in the summer of 1998, and after training with Hull City he retired from professional football.
In his first game in charge of the club, The Mariners defeated local rivals Barnsley 6–1, with 4 goals coming from the ever-popular Phil Jevons.
[2] On 5 June 2006, Rodger would finally get his break, and was appointed as the club's full-time manager, when Slade departed to join Yeovil Town.
However after a poor start to the season he was sacked on 5 November after five months in charge, with Grimsby hoping for promotion, the club found itself in the bottom third of the table.
[3] His replacement was to be Alan Buckley who in turn brought Rodger back to then club again as the Sports in the Community Officer, a previous position he had held from 1999 to 2001.