Rodgers Pleased with Liverpool Players; Believes they have the Composure to win the League
Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers is confident his players have the composure to deal with a tense Premier League title race.
The Reds moved to the top of the table with a 4-0 win over Tottenham at Anfield on Sunday and, should they win their last six games of the season, they might be champions for the first time in 24 years.
Their run-in include vital home games with chief rivals Chelsea and Manchester City but Rodgers feels his side could not be any more confident and will take those challenges in stride.
“I have said all along, I feel that when there are pressure situations the players can cope,” said Rodgers after seeing his side go top for the first time since Christmas.
“That is what you want, the courage to play. We made it the game it was because of our intensity, our focus, the quality of our football.
“We work to deal with pressure, to get on the ball. The players know 100 per cent if they make a mistake I will take the blame.
I didn’t see any nerves. I thought the composure, calmness on the ball, the positioning of the team was outstanding.
“We have a wonderful mix: world-class players, young talents from Europe and South America and a load of young British talent here who show that technically they can play and tactically their ideas are very good and they can operate at this level without any fear.
“You see the confidence, there is no anxiety, no pressure. It was great to watch.”
Liverpool were the only top-four side to win this weekend, but Rodgers insists he is only thinking about their results. Despite going top, Rodgers says that he is not thinking about the title.
“In terms of ourselves that can only be our concentration. There are some big opponents in this league, you can’t worry yourself about other teams,” he insisted. “Our next job, and my next job, is to analyse West Ham [Liverpool’s next opponents] and that is our focus.
“We have won eight games in a row and we are enjoying it, we will just enjoy it as it is a fantastic performance and now we just concentrate on the victory and concentrate on next week’s game.
“The dream is for our supporters, they want to win the title – but it is not in my thinking, my thinking it is to prepare the team and perform well and if we do that we can continue to win games and then we can see where that takes it,” Rodgers added.
The Liverpool boss was also quick to hail the club’s fans, adding: “I thought it was as good an atmosphere as there has been. It is a monumental size of club and when we have that support behind us it is a real force and the supporters recognise how hard we are working and hopefully that takes us a long way.”
