Brendan Rodgers has admitted his job as Liverpool manager is on the line and said he will do whatever he can to turn around the club’s fortunes.
The Liverpool manager was speaking at his weekly press conference on Friday ahead of Saturday’s visit of Aston Villa.
Rodgers is under growing pressure and has seen Carlo Ancelotti and Jürgen Klopp linked with his job in the past few days. Liverpool have denied approaching any manager about a potential vacancy, but Rodgers conceded that results must improve.
“I’m never complacent enough to think it never has been,” he replied. “You need to be at your best every day when you come into a club of this stature, and thrive on that positive fear. It does not affect me. I have a belief in what I do. We nearly achieved great things. We have a new group of players and we are looking to take it forward. I do not shy away from the fact we need to get results and perform well.
“When you are a manager of a club this size there is always going to speculation around your job and when you don’t win that will intensify. Since I have been here I think there have been 10 managers linked with job. That is part and parcel of the game.
“I have regular contact with the owners and the relationship is always strong. Whether I am here for one day more or one month or one year more I will always have respect for the people here, the owners and [the chief executive] Ian Ayre.
“I will do what I will always do and do the best I can. If you don’t get results the pressure is there but I enjoy challenges. I walked in here as a 39-year-old manager and as I sit here now I am much better manager, but I understand I must get results. We know with one win you are back near the top four.”
A year ago Rodgers told Spanish sports daily Marca that he hoped to be manager of Liverpool for 20 years. Today, he accepts that is not going to happen.
“I don’t think the pressure goes away unless you are winning games and getting the performance level,” he added. “I hope to be a manager for 20 years. I know it won’t be 20 years at Liverpool but while I am here I want to fight for the club and the players. They have worked hard and are working harder than ever. We will look to start again.”
Rodgers has also come under fire from former skipper Steven Gerrard, who suggested in his autobiography that the Liverpool boss was guilty of over-confidence when the Reds were challenging for the title in the 2013-14 season.
Liverpool led the table by five points with three games to go until they were beaten 2-0 by José Mourinho’s side in April 2014. Manchester City ultimately won the title by two points.
“I’ve never been able to say this in public before but I was seriously concerned that we thought we could blow Chelsea away,” Gerrard wrote in My Story. “I sensed an over-confidence in Brendan’s team talks. We played into Chelsea’s hands. I feared it then and I know it now.”
