Brendan Rodgers and Liverpool ended their disappointing season in the most humiliating way possible as the Reds slumped to a 6-1 defeat against Stoke this afternoon.
The Reds enjoyed a spectacular season last year and almost won the title with the help of an inspirational Luis Suarez. The departure of Suarez and injuries to Sturridge has left Liverpool toothless upfront this season and the Reds have lacked the cutting edge that made them unplayable last term.
However, Rodgers was expected to make it to the Champions League after having spent 100 million pounds. Instead, the Reds finished 6th and crashed out of the Champions league this season, in its group stages.
Further, an embarrassing performance against Villa in the FA Cup Semi Final was another massive set back for Rodgers and his players this season.
Rodgers was adamant earlier this week that he will continue at Anfield next season. However, the 6-1 thumping has complicated things for the former Swansea boss.
Rodgers stated in the post match presser that he would like to continue and has a lot to offer, however, he is aware that the owners might be running out of patience and he could go in the summer.
“Yes, absolutely,” Rodgers replied, when asked whether he was aware of the uncertainty regarding his future. “I’ve always said if the owners want me to go, I go. It’s as simple as that. I still feel I’ve got a lot to offer here. A lot has happened this year that has made the job difficult and we’ve kept fighting right to the very end but I totally understand that [the questions]. Last season, when everything is working well and you have the support of everyone … but performances like today don’t help you and I’m fully aware of that.
“The first half was the worst I’ve ever had. I have never conceded that many goals in a game. To start with, it is an apology. All the supporters connected with Liverpool today will be embarrassed by that and deserve an apology. The fans had every right to be angry at half-time. Absolutely. We can have no complaints, all of us, if the supporters were angry at half-time because that was awful, absolutely awful.”
Furthermore, speaking about the fans, Rodgers stated, “This period now, we’ve come up short and the only way you get support from them is by winning games – and we haven’t won enough games in these last couple of months,” Rodgers said. “So they have every right to be angry and frustrated and, of course, I take full responsibility for that as the manager, none more so than today.
“Our job is to go away and reflect on this season. We know there is an awful lot of work to do and the job now is to go and fix that, and make sure we come back with the motivation greater than ever to push on next season because we’ve finished in sixth. It’s where we deserved to finish and we have to now, from today, start the climb to get back up. ”
Rodgers also stated that he can address the problems next season. “Absolutely,” he said.
“There’s a number of key elements of the performance that didn’t surprise me, if I’m being honest, so I think that there are areas that we will address in the summer that will hopefully help us be much more competitive, more consistently, from the beginning of the season. We, as a club, will work very hard to make that happen.
“My pride makes me want to be in this job. I love the job here. I love the club. It’s been a difficult season for us and if the owners ever say to me to go, I go but I want to be here. I love the club but I also understand that we need to be better than what we’ve shown in recent weeks.”
The likes of Rafa Benitez and Jurgen Klopp have been linked to the Anfield job in what promises to be another interesting summer at the Merseyside club.
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