Has Brendan Rodgers Lost The Liverpool Dressing Room?


After being knocked out of the Champions League, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers ended a miserable week with a 3-0 loss to arch-rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday. After the defeat, Brendan Rodgers admitted that there are issues among players in the Liverpool squad.

A downtrodden Rodgers told reporters, “In every dressing room there have always been been issues, but it is not something I discuss outside of the dressing room. The players are honest but we are not getting results.”

However, Rodgers has defended the work ethic of his young team.

“We have to recapture the team ethos. With the emphasis of the team, it is clear to me that we are searching to find solutions. The players are working hard, the players have given everything, they are pressing and they are working.”

Rodgers continued, “We didn’t deserve to lose, but we need to be more clinical.”

Rodgers faced scrutiny yet again for his team selection, replacing the ever present Simon Mignolet for backup Brad Jones for his first start in the league in over a year. To make matters worse, the opposition goalkeeper, Spaniard David De Gea, put in a fantastic performance, claiming the Man of the Match award.

“Their keeper got man of the match and that tells you everything. We created more chances against United than in the last five or six games but we are disappointed with the first and the third goal.”

Liverpool manager remonstrated that “[t]he second one was clearly offside. With the players we had we did the best we could.”

The defeat will be even harder to swallow for Rodgers, given that his team had comprehensively beaten Manchester United with a 3-0 victory earlier this year. However, the Liverpool manager must look ahead to Wednesday with a tricky clash against Championship leaders Bournemouth away from home.

Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes that Rodgers could be sacked like previous managers such as Hodgson and Dalglish, given the “ruthless” nature of the game.

“Brendan Rodgers is under pressure. The owners were ruthless with Kenny [Dalglish] and Roy [Hodgson]. You go out against Bournemouth [in Wednesday’s Capital One Cup quarter-final] and then you have Arsenal. He was manager of the year but he has to get results. You expect them to do well after spending that kind of money. They are looking to be in the top four but they have failed in the Champions League. It will be hard to catch United because they are not in Europe. Arsenal will be going for fourth as well. If they don’t get top four then he will be under pressure.”

With tough fixtures away to Bournemouth and at home to Arsenal around the corner, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers must start winning matches sooner rather than later, or else he could become the first managerial casualty of the season.

[Image via SkySports]

Share this article: Has Brendan Rodgers Lost The Liverpool Dressing Room?
More from Inquisitr