players to come straight into the starting line-up
for next season as he insisted he remains the
best man for the job despite the impending
availability of Jurgen Klopp, who is leaving
Borussia Dortmund.
Rodgers’ position – and also the ownership model
of Fenway Sports Group – has been brought
under scrutiny after the FA Cup semi-final defeat
to Aston Villa anchored the accusation his current
squad are ‘nearly men.’
Liverpool have spent more than £200m in the last
three years mainly on potential, rather than
proven, talent and Rodgers said reaching two cup
semi-finals and currently being fifth in the Premier
League was “on a par” with where the club was
at - especially given the loss of Luis Suarez last
summer and the injuries which have decimated
Daniel Sturridge’s campaign.
FSG remain supportive of Rodgers, who is
coveted by Manchester City, and he backed
himself to deliver silverware in an impassioned
defence of his acumen.
“When I sit down and look at it, I will hold myself
up against anyone to manage this club and to fit
the model of what they want,” he said.
“I am super-ambitious in terms of wanting to win
and there will be no greater place to do that than
here, but of course in modern football there are
lots of processes that go on behind the scenes
that people will never be aware of.
“In terms of what we are trying to do, I do not
see anyone better in terms of the hand we were
given.
“When I came in the team was eight. Yes, we had
the Carling Cup win, but in terms of where the
club wanted to go we implemented a philosophy
that was exciting and won games and
unexpectedly nearly won the league and qualified
for the Champions League.
“We’ve got to two cup semi-finals one of which
we have not performed well in. The plan here and
the focus is to be consistent, and to be
consistent winners not, to be ‘nearly men’. We do
not want that label.
“We are here to win and there is no-one more
ambitious. If there comes a time when that is not
the case and we move on, there will no-one who
respects the owners more than me.
“But Christ, no, I will fight for my life as I have
said before to be here and if I can get the tools
here to help us we can be really successful.”
Targeting players to go straight into the team
was supposed to be the aim of last summer’s
dealings, but Liverpool have struggled to land
their first-choice targets as they compete against
the likes of Manchester United, Chelsea,
Manchester City and Arsenal.
-Express
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