Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has denied there was a crisis meeting after the Reds’ humiliating defeat against Arsenal.
Reports in the Mirror emerged earlier today stating Brendan Rodgers had held a crisis meeting at the club after the 4-1 loss to Arsenal. The report went on to state some dressing room disharmony as some senior players were left incensed by Rodgers’s claims of the players not playing for him. The report said: The Anfield boss called a meeting after training at Melwood yesterday and accused several players of not playing for him. Some senior players spoke up angrily against Rodgers as they were left incensed at the accusation. Some have been left disaffected in recent weeks and now Rodgers is facing the biggest test of his reign at Anfield.
Naturally, these reports made way to the Liverpool boss who clarified the issue and said that the team meeting was simply routine, in order to analyse the Arsenal performance.
He said, a I heard that this morning. Listen, it (the story) is something you cana t help.
a We have lots of meetings here in terms of analysing performance, and it was no different to a whole host of those that we have had throughout the year.
a Ita s those meetings that have allowed us to recover from the bad start that we had, and to win 10 games out of 13.
a It was nothing really, it was just analysing performance, analysing where we are at, and then feeding forward to the players where we can go, with seven (league) games to go and an FA Cup quarter final. We have made clear the objectives we can clearly achieve between now and the end of the season.
a Ita s just unfortunate, obviously, that something else has been made up.a
Rodgers was asked whether such stories doing rounds in the press is a concern for the team and the Liverpool boss replied, a No. Ia ve got a great bunch of players here, who tirelessly give me everything every single day. I think you can see that in the way we play. We might be short in certain areas and elements, but in terms of the commitment and the work ethic of the team, and the focus that they have, that is pretty clear, and has been since Ia ve been here.a
These reports will definitely be a concern for the club, and as much as Rodgers is denying it – which he naturally will – it definitely will be a worry for him. Recently, Raheem Sterling’s interview with BBC also caused a wide cry and such a distraction before perhaps the season defining match (losing which might have costed the Reds a Champions League spot seven matches before the season ends). Moreover, Rodgers has more concerns with the team’s football that he needs to address with urgency and these reports could only cause an unrequired distraction.