After a string of poor results, Liverpool was able to take all three points in a 3-2 win over Aston Villa on Saturday.
Brendan Rodgers had been under intense scrutiny leading up the match, as many were calling for the manager to be replaced less than ten matches into the season.
After the win against Villa, Rodgers said he knows the manager of a massive club like Liverpool will always be under pressure, but didn’t believe his record warranted such “hysteria.”
I am pretty confident that there is a group of people that don’t want me to be here as manager. In all competitions this season we have lost less games than Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal.
I think it is pretty clear. Sometimes we haven’t lost games and the hysteria around it is pretty clear. There is maybe something else going on from behind. I will continue working with the players – they have been absolutely first class – and we still have top class players to come back in.
After finishing in second place in the Premier League just two points off the title in 2013-14, Liverpool fell to sixth place last season and failed to advance from the group stage of the Champions League. Many were disappointed with the drop-off under Rodgers, and the Reds’ slow start to this season hasn’t helped his cause.
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While the win over Villa should silence the critics for a bit, Liverpool has a tough stretch of games coming up. After a midweek Europa league match, the Reds face Everton in the Merseyside derby before taking on Tottenham and Southampton.
If Rodgers can string together some more positive results in those matches, he’ll then have to look forward to Chelsea, Crystal Palace, and Manchester City. Unless Liverpool goes on a run for the ages, expect the criticism to keep coming in
