Source: Daily_Mail
Liverpool striker Fernando Torres backs underfire Roy Hodgson
Fernando Torres has thrown hisweight behind RoyHodgson's troubledAnfield reign andinsisted the entire Liverpoolsquad are backing theirunder-fire manager. The striker spoke out on the eve oftoday's critical home game withWest Ham and denied suggestions ofa dressing-room split.Reacting to claims that elementsof Liverpool's foreign contingent hadalready lost faith in Hodgson, andthat they felt Benitez should havebeen kept on, Torres delivered aringing endorsement of the formerFulham boss. Here we come: Torres believes Liverpool have turned a corner'The squad here trusts in Hodgsonand so do I,' Torres told a Spanishradio station. 'It is not simple tobegin a project with a different coachin a club where it is required to fightfor every competition. You have toadapt to new ways to create awinning team and that is never easy. 'The team are reacting. Not everythinghas gone as well as we hoped,but if we can put three wins togetherin a row then the team will be at theright end of the table and we will bemore relaxed and play better.Underfire: Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson'I have no problem with Hodgson.He's a very serious coach who in thesummer explained to me very clearlywhat he wanted from me. He hasalways trusted in me and that's veryimportant for any footballer. 'Although he was here a long time,the (Rafa) Benitez phase atLiverpool is already history. Itbelongs to the past and now only thepresent is important to us. 'For us, football is the only thing wecan think about at the moment. Weare not as high in the table as wewant to be. 'So we need to put spacebetween ourselves and the others.I'm sure we'll do that and then wecan start to look up.' West Ham midfielder Scott Parker is rated a major doubt for the Anfield clashwith a chest infection, though his possibleabsence is more than countered by thestart of a month-long lay-off for Steven Gerrard following hishamstring tear in England'smidweek defeat by France. Though Hodgson admitted beingangry at an injury that happened 25minutes after Gerrard was supposedto have been withdrawn, he revealedhow his skipper had defused a potentialrow between club and country. Such was the initial fury withinAnfield that their head of fitness andconditioning, Darren Burgess,tweeted that Gerrard's treatmentwas 'absolutely disgraceful'. But Hodgson said: 'My thoughts on Steven are that I'm frustratedand disappointed to lose such a goodplayer for a long period of time aftera friendly. Cruel blow: Steven Gerrard will miss the next four weeks after picking up a hamstring injury playing for England'Anything other than 'I'mdisappointed and a bit angry' wouldbe dishonest. 'But when I spoke toSteven this morning he was at painsto say to me, 'Don't prolong thisdebate. I know how you feel, butplease say as little as you can and beas diplomatic as you can'. 'He feels like me that it's a sadthing to have happened, and he'svery disappointed about it, but hedoesn't want to give even morereasons for a debate to rage.' Hodgson said Gerrard would notbe rushed back from injury. Under-pressure Grant praying West Ham can break 47-year Anfield hoodoo Redknapp hails 'top' Kranjcar - but won't stand in way of Croat's Spurs exitRoy Hodgson rages at losing Steven Gerrard for a month (and Liverpool boss is still waiting for Fabio Capello's call) Explore more:People: Roy Hodgson, Fernando Torres, Steven Gerrard Places: Liverpool, United Kingdom, France