Tony Barrett Sofia
Last updated at 12:01AM, November 26 2014
Brendan Rodgers has admitted that he is ready to sacrifice style for substance as he looks to arrest Liverpool’s alarming decline, but warned his players that they must block out mounting criticism if they are to stand any chance of emerging from their slump.
Liverpool go into tonight’s crucial Champions League group game away to Ludogorets after four successive defeats and in the knowledge that they need to avoid a fifth to prevent their chances of qualifying for the knockout phase either being further jeopardised or extinguished.
Despite having the backing of Fenway Sports Group (FSG), Liverpool’s owner, Rodgers acknowledges that the need for positive results is becoming pressing and will select a team to face the Bulgarian champions reflecting that growing concern.
In what will be viewed as a pivotal move, Lucas Leiva is set to be recalled to play in a defensive-midfield role with Steven Gerrard moving into a more advanced position. Kolo Touré is likely to replace Dejan Lovren, with Rodgers hoping to make Liverpool harder to beat.
“The philosophy is important and we know how we want to work but you need to get results,” the Liverpool manager said. “You need to find results. We would take a scrappy win. Listen, you can’t play perfect football. It is going to be tough. We want to get a result. My time has been spent trying to find the structure to give us the balance to attack and ultimately to defend — you have to be able to defend.”
Liverpool’s mental strength has been brought into question increasingly as their form has foundered with Jamie Carragher, their former captain, accusing them of lacking leadership and being bullied during their 3-1 defeat away to Crystal Palace on Sunday. Despite acknowledging the need for greater resilience, Rodgers rejected such criticism, insisting that in his time as manager, Liverpool have consistently displayed the qualities that they have been accused of lacking.
“We hear criticism of the team,” he said. “We are a team and we showed that last year. We have got resilience. OK, we will sometimes concede more than we would like but I don’t think you can doubt the character of this team. It can’t be criticised.
“We have got players here who have got courage. They have got spirit. It is like life. Whatever line of work you are in, if you don’t do it with confidence, you won’t do it quite as well as you would like. The job is to restore the confidence of the team and get results.
“It is a comment [the accusation that Liverpool are too easily bullied] that’s been made, of course. It’s something [that happens] when you’re paid to be critics, well not critics, but to assess the team. What I’ve learnt is that when you lose games people will say what they want and that’s what comes.
“I have a team full of characters, full of people fully committed and hopefully that’s something that will improve.”
Liverpool’s season has not quite reached the Hail Mary stage but it is not far off. “The situation we are in is not good,” Rickie Lambert, the striker, said. “It is really horrible to see Liverpool in this position and it is not nice when you are part of the squad. It is hurting everyone at the club.”
It has been a painful experience for Rodgers, who knows that he can ill afford a fifth successive defeat in Sofia.
The Liverpool manager is expected to retain the backing of FSG, even if they do exit in the group stage as Rodgers himself acknowledged. “I haven’t spoken to the owners,” he said. “I’ve had a few messages but they’ve always been supportive of me. My focus is on getting Liverpool to win games because I know that is what would make them most happy.”
Some of that's a bit vexing: "I’ve said before, whether criticism is deserved or not, you won’t like it, but you just have to ignore it, you just have to not listen to it" - no, Brendan, you SHOULD listen to it because much of it's true, and it doesn't help you to make out you're brushing it aside after four dismal defeats! And as for that other remark - "It is a comment [the accusation that Liverpool are too easily bullied] that’s been made, of course. It’s something [that happens] when you’re paid to be critics, well not critics, but to assess the team. What I’ve learnt is that when you lose games people will say what they want and that’s what comes" - well, it's barely up to the level of gibberish. Maybe he's not slept much.
Anyway, at least it sounds like he's going to be more pragmatic tonight. Fingers crossed!
Last updated at 12:01AM, November 26 2014
Brendan Rodgers has admitted that he is ready to sacrifice style for substance as he looks to arrest Liverpool’s alarming decline, but warned his players that they must block out mounting criticism if they are to stand any chance of emerging from their slump.
Liverpool go into tonight’s crucial Champions League group game away to Ludogorets after four successive defeats and in the knowledge that they need to avoid a fifth to prevent their chances of qualifying for the knockout phase either being further jeopardised or extinguished.
Despite having the backing of Fenway Sports Group (FSG), Liverpool’s owner, Rodgers acknowledges that the need for positive results is becoming pressing and will select a team to face the Bulgarian champions reflecting that growing concern.
In what will be viewed as a pivotal move, Lucas Leiva is set to be recalled to play in a defensive-midfield role with Steven Gerrard moving into a more advanced position. Kolo Touré is likely to replace Dejan Lovren, with Rodgers hoping to make Liverpool harder to beat.
“The philosophy is important and we know how we want to work but you need to get results,” the Liverpool manager said. “You need to find results. We would take a scrappy win. Listen, you can’t play perfect football. It is going to be tough. We want to get a result. My time has been spent trying to find the structure to give us the balance to attack and ultimately to defend — you have to be able to defend.”
Liverpool’s mental strength has been brought into question increasingly as their form has foundered with Jamie Carragher, their former captain, accusing them of lacking leadership and being bullied during their 3-1 defeat away to Crystal Palace on Sunday. Despite acknowledging the need for greater resilience, Rodgers rejected such criticism, insisting that in his time as manager, Liverpool have consistently displayed the qualities that they have been accused of lacking.
“We hear criticism of the team,” he said. “We are a team and we showed that last year. We have got resilience. OK, we will sometimes concede more than we would like but I don’t think you can doubt the character of this team. It can’t be criticised.
“We have got players here who have got courage. They have got spirit. It is like life. Whatever line of work you are in, if you don’t do it with confidence, you won’t do it quite as well as you would like. The job is to restore the confidence of the team and get results.
“It is a comment [the accusation that Liverpool are too easily bullied] that’s been made, of course. It’s something [that happens] when you’re paid to be critics, well not critics, but to assess the team. What I’ve learnt is that when you lose games people will say what they want and that’s what comes.
“I have a team full of characters, full of people fully committed and hopefully that’s something that will improve.”
Liverpool’s season has not quite reached the Hail Mary stage but it is not far off. “The situation we are in is not good,” Rickie Lambert, the striker, said. “It is really horrible to see Liverpool in this position and it is not nice when you are part of the squad. It is hurting everyone at the club.”
It has been a painful experience for Rodgers, who knows that he can ill afford a fifth successive defeat in Sofia.
The Liverpool manager is expected to retain the backing of FSG, even if they do exit in the group stage as Rodgers himself acknowledged. “I haven’t spoken to the owners,” he said. “I’ve had a few messages but they’ve always been supportive of me. My focus is on getting Liverpool to win games because I know that is what would make them most happy.”
Some of that's a bit vexing: "I’ve said before, whether criticism is deserved or not, you won’t like it, but you just have to ignore it, you just have to not listen to it" - no, Brendan, you SHOULD listen to it because much of it's true, and it doesn't help you to make out you're brushing it aside after four dismal defeats! And as for that other remark - "It is a comment [the accusation that Liverpool are too easily bullied] that’s been made, of course. It’s something [that happens] when you’re paid to be critics, well not critics, but to assess the team. What I’ve learnt is that when you lose games people will say what they want and that’s what comes" - well, it's barely up to the level of gibberish. Maybe he's not slept much.
Anyway, at least it sounds like he's going to be more pragmatic tonight. Fingers crossed!
