Source: Team_Talk
Hodgson ready for Rovers test
iverpool manager Roy Hodgson insists reports of the club's demise have been greatly exaggerated and they are "far from dead".[LNB] A woeful start to their Premier League campaign has left them mired in 19th place and they could face the ignominy of starting Sunday's home game against Blackburn bottom of the table.[LNB]Having dismissed rumours speculating he was considering resigning because of their poor form Hodgson remains confident that with new ownership - New England Sports Ventures completed their £300million takeover a week ago - the corner can now be turned.[LNB]"We showed we are far from dead as a club by going to Naples and doing well as we have in other Europa League games," he said after a weakened team returned home with a valuable point thanks to a 0-0 draw in a hostile atmosphere at the Stadio San Paolo.[LNB]"We are going through a very bad passage at the moment and things have not gone our way for a variety of reasons.[LNB]"We are down at the bottom and desperately want to get away from there.[LNB]"But the new owners have done a lot for the club, they've given the club a lift and they did that before the Everton game (which Liverpool lost last Sunday).[LNB]"There was a certain buoyancy and a feelgood feeling and we can start to rebuild, put things right and get ourselves on a good footing once again.[LNB]"Of course Sunday is the ideal opportunity to do this.[LNB]"Unfortunately Blackburn will have something to say about that. They won't be lying down."[LNB]Hodgson can at least take heart from the performance of a team shorn of Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres, Raul Meireles and Lucas Leiva - who were all rested - and Dirk Kuyt and Daniel Agger, unfit and unwell respectively.[LNB]It gave the likes of 18-year-old Jonjo Shelvey to start his first competitive game for the Reds while Jay Spearing, 21, got another run out in midfield.[LNB]"We have to be satisfied with that result and perhaps more satisfied with a good performance which got a result we deserved," added the Reds boss, who had an unsuccessful spell in charge of Blackburn between 1997 and 1998.[LNB]"If your squad is any good then your players will be able to step up to the plate and that was definitely the case last night as they stepped up to the plate and dealt with it - even Jonjo Shelvey, starting for the first time.[LNB]"We did it in a very tough atmosphere because Napoli is a very tough place to come and play at any time - it doesn't matter whether you are Inter Milan, Juventus or Liverpool.[LNB]"I know all the players who will get a chance to play on Sunday will be chomping at the bit to get out there and run and work and fight.[LNB]"Last night had nothing to do with that but the good thing is I haven't forced some players to play three matches in a week, which could quite easily have prejudiced our chances of finding the intensity I am looking for.[LNB]"What I am hoping for is a little bit luck so the result (against Blackburn) goes our way whether we play well or play badly.[LNB]"That will give ourselves a bit of breathing space in order to start rebuilding and trying to move up the table rather than finding ourselves marooned."
