We’re to blame ...not the boss says Liverpool's JOE ALLEN
JOE ALLEN insists Liverpool’s players should have copped the blame for last season’s horror show.
Reds boss Brendan Rodgers found himself in the firing line as Liverpool slumped to sixth after challenging for the Premier League title 12 months earlier.
Rodgers’ job was not in danger but he did have to sit down with the club’s owners to dissect the poor campaign.
Allen, 25, insists the players should take responsibility for the collapse and must ensure their manager does not face such scrutiny again this season.
The midfielder said: “At the end of the day we were the ones who let the supporters down, the manager and the staff down and ourselves down, it’s as simple as that.
“The players we’ve got here are all honest players who take responsibility. It’s up to us to get back out there and get back to the levels we know we can reach.”
Allen echoed Rodgers’ view that the door is closed on last season. But he knows how important a good start will be after losing seven league games before Christmas last term.
Liverpool have invested in six new players and continue to chase Aston Villa striker Christian Benteke.
All eyes will be on their opening game against Stoke after the Potters walloped them 6-1 on the final day of last season.
Allen added: “We didn’t start the way we would have liked.
“We turned it around at one point and had a good run from December through to March, but in the last two months we dropped off again.
“To allow the standards and the levels to drop like that was what hurt the most. When you end on a low like we did at Stoke then it’s a really long summer.”
As well as new signings, they also have new coaching staff with Sean O’Driscoll taking over as assistant boss and Gary McAllister as firstteam coach.
O’Driscoll has already been allowed to take control of training sessions.