Reds boss in results business

10 November 2012 13:26
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is convinced the good results will soon start to flow for his struggling side. The Reds have looked impressive at times under the guidance of new boss Rodgers but that is yet to translate into points in the Premier League. After 10 games, Liverpool remain in the bottom half with just two wins to their name and 11 points, their chief problem having been goalscoring. The Merseysiders have struck only 13 times and seven of those have come from talisman Luis Suarez, who is presently their only fit and available established striker. Rodgers is well aware of the problem and has stressed he is just as concerned about results as he appears to be about the stylish way his team plays. Rodgers said: "The bottom line is results every week. "I look at the result and there is absolutely no doubt we are in the business of winning. It is not the case where I override the result. "But I am very optimistic in my professional life, I tend to take a lot of good aspects out the performance and break those down and analyse which is important, and improve the areas where we need to. "I don't think there is a lot wrong with our game, that is the brutal honesty of it. "We are up there with the top four teams in the country in terms of creating chances. "The clear area we need to improve on is finishing, and getting the goals to finish off our approach play. I will never forget that. "But if you are performing well, nine times out of 10 you will get a good result." Liverpool face a stern test this weekend as they travel to one of the country's form teams in Chelsea. Although the Londoners were beaten by Manchester United a fortnight ago and then lost top spot after being held by Swansea last week, their attacking play has been formidable. New signings Oscar and Eden Hazard have linked well with Juan Mata while former Liverpool striker Fernando Torres has struck seven times. Rodgers said: "Traditionally Stamford Bridge is a very difficult place to go and get a result but we are going there with great confidence. "We know the offensive threats they have but our concentration will be on our own game. "We have some really top players here that can hurt any opponent on a given day. That will be the objective. "For us it is about collecting the points and collecting as many as we can. "Whether that is at Chelsea or wherever, it doesn't matter. We just look to keep our performance level up because it has been at a good level." Rodgers will revert to a more familiar line-up after resting a number of his leading lights for Thursday's Europa League clash against Anzhi Makhachkala in Moscow. The likes of Suarez, Steven Gerrard, Joe Allen, Nuri Sahin, Martin Skrtel, Daniel Agger and Raheem Sterling were not required to travel to Russia. England right-back Glen Johnson, who has often been deployed by Rodgers on the left, is also set to return against his former club after a fortnight out with a hamstring injury. Johnson, who has also been named in England's squad for next week's friendly in Sweden, does get criticised for his defensive work but Rodgers holds him in the highest regard. He said: "I can only think of Daniel Alves and Glen Johnson as the two leading full-backs in world football. "For me he is one of the top right-backs in the world, but has operated a lot at left-back and been outstanding. That shows the level of his game." Liverpool are actually now well served at right-back with Andre Wisdom breaking through this season in a position in which Martin Kelly and Jon Flanagan have also impressed. That has in part influenced Johnson's switch to the left, where Jose Enrique has not always been in favour. First-choice goalkeeper Jose Reina is also back in training after a hamstring injury but the game may come a week too soon for him. Rodgers has fond memories of Chelsea after working on their coaching staff under recent managers Jose Mourinho, Avram Grant and Luiz Felipe Scolari. The Northern Irishman said: "I had some terrific experiences there both professionally and personally. "I was privileged to part of a really exciting era at the club at the time. "It was certainly those experiences that set me up for a career in management."

Source: team_talk