Rodgers makes fans and Europe his top priorities for season
STOKE
LIVERPOOL
BRENDAN RODGERS is targeting winning back the trust of disaffected Liverpool fans and a Champions League spot as he prepares to return to the scene of his “worst day” in football.
The Liverpool manager begins a pivotal campaign at Stoke City tomorrow just 77 days after a spineless 6- 1 capitulation at the Britannia Stadium conspired to leave his tenure under exacting scrutiny.
Rodgers revealed that he forced himself to sit through a re- run of the chastening defeat after receiving the backing of club owners, Fenway Sports Group ( FSG), and insists a period of refl ection over the summer has left him refocused and more determined to revive club fortunes.
In an honest appraisal, Rodgers said his fi rst task was to reinstil faith in his methods after acknowledging the scepticism greeting his 2012 appointment was again prevalent.
“Probably yes,” said Rodgers. “I never take for granted the support I’ve had here, but I also understand the disappointment of last year.
“I’m sure after a game like Stoke there was huge disappointment, but I’ve always been the one to take responsibility and, rightly so, the anger goes towards the manager and I accept that.
“I need to regain their trust again. It has been an incredible journey since I came here and it’s an absolute privilege to manage this club with the supporters we have. But you have to do well to earn that support and I need to earn it again.
“I have confi dence in how I work. It certainly didn’t take anything away from my beliefs.
“But it sharpened that I needed to refocus and look at how we could take the club forward. I’m as driven now – if not more – as the fi rst day I came here. We want to put a disappointing season behind us. Our ambition is to be in the Champions League and then keep climbing.”
New players – £ 32.5million Christian Benteke, £ 29m Roberto Firmino, free agent James Milner and £ 10m Nathaniel Clyne – are among those who have signed in and a new backroom staff of Sean O’Driscoll, Pepijn Lijnders and Gary McAllister have also arrived to leave Rodgers with less reasons to come up short.
FSG will tolerate a steady start to the campaign, bearing in mind the fi xtures that see Liverpool visit Arsenal, Manchester United, Everton, Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City after Stoke, in the expectation that they will push on afterwards.
While Rodgers boasts enough attacking options to fi ll a team and places on the substitutes’ bench, he must prove Liverpool are hard to beat as he begins his fourth season.
Outscoring opponents every week is unrealistic, as the heartache of the 2013- 14 season showed, and unless there is defensive resolve then hopes of infi ltrating the top four, presently optimistic, will quickly look fanciful.
The shambles which unfolded at Stoke on what was former skipper