Brendan Rodgers admits he is starting from scratch and must prove to Liverpool’s supporters that he can earn their trust.
|||London - Brendan Rodgers has admitted he is starting from scratch once again and must prove to Liverpool’s supporters that he can earn their trust.
The Liverpool manager returns to Stoke tomorrow, 11 weeks on from the 6-1 mauling that plunged his three-year tenure into doubt.
Rodgers described that afternoon as ‘the worst’ of his managerial career and accepts he will be under persistent scrutiny this season.
Rodgers has been eager to draw a line under the way his team’s form collapsed last season and having spent almost £80million on new faces - headed by Christian Benteke, who will make his debut - he believes Liverpool have the ammunition to challenge for a place in the top four.
There is a recognition, though, that his words will lack substance until Liverpool start winning consistently and he also accepts there will be scepticism about his credentials, just as there was when he first arrived from Swansea in 2012.
‘I never take for granted the support I have had here but I also understand the disappointment of last year,’ said Rodgers. ‘I’m sure after a game like Stoke there was huge disappointment, but I have always been the one to take responsibility and rightly so.
‘The anger goes towards the manager and I accept that. It’s been an incredible journey since I came in here, an absolute privilege to manage this club with the supporters we have behind us, but of course you have to do well to earn that support and I need to earn that trust again.’
After a campaign in which Liverpool finished sixth and tumbled out of Europe at the first hurdle twice, Rodgers understands how big the onus is on him to deliver a place in the Champions League next May.
‘The owners have given me great trust since I have been in here and in the main I have had a great response from the players,’ he said.
‘I’m as driven now - if not more - as the first day I came in here. We want to put a disappointing season behind us. They have always felt that I was the guy to be here. They re-assured me of that. That, of course, gives me great confidence going forward to make us better again.’
Daily Mail
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