Brendan Rodgers has asked fans to stop laying the blame at the feet of Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard, as the club continues to struggle in the Premier League.
Manager Rodgers backed his captain despite Liverpool’s poor run of form, which has also partially been attributed to the loss of star striker Luis Suarez to Barcelona. Suarez’s replacement Mario Balotelli has failed to make an impression at Anfield thus far, and is currently sitting out with an injury ahead of the Merseyside club’s next Champions League match.
Related: Balotelli to Sit Out of Liverpool’s Next Champions League Game
Speaking to Sky Sports, Rodgers backed Gerrard, saying: “Steven has been an outstanding figure for me in my time here and, ok, we’re looking at different areas of his game – he’s not the Steven Gerrard he was 10, 12 years ago – but we’ve seen last year how instrumental he was in our climb towards the top of the table.
“He’s been the lynchpin of this football club; he’s carried this club lots of time on his own for the last 10 years. I think it’s unfair, at this stage of his career, to be looking at him as the reason.”
He continued: “He’s a big reason as to why we are where we’ve got to over the years. If people are expecting the marauding player from 10 years ago, arguably one of the best players in the history of the Premier League, so fast, so strong, of course those days are gone. But he still has a huge influence on the team.”
Rodgers concluded by saying that Liverpool’s poor run of form is “certainly not the fault of Steven Gerrard”, and that the team will improve after winning just 4 of their first 12 games. The club currently sit in 12th place after another defeat at the hands of Crystal Palace, who they suffered a humiliating 3-1 defeat to.
Rodgers is now determined for the club to turn their fortunes around, stating that they’ll “just get on with it” and that they will get better with time. Liverpool fans will surely be asking just how much time it will take.
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