Brendan Rodgers living on credit he built up last season

The manager and his Liverpool side desperately need a Premier League win against Stoke City on Saturday to save their poor season.

Few managers are as aware of the image they project as Brendan Rodgers, according to our columnist. Andrew Winning / Reuters

There is always a danger, when results go against a team, of reading too much into every detail.

Tiny moments or trivial turns of phrase, which would be inconsequential in a good run of form, become major issues.

It does feel, though, that there has been a significance in Brendan Rodgers’s last two post-match news conferences.

After Sunday’s defeat at Crystal Palace, he was cowed, speaking so quietly it was hard to make out what he was saying, looking down at the desk in front of him and mumbling as he acknowledged that he was aware there was a possibility he could lose his job.

Few managers are as aware of the image they project as Rodgers and so, on Wednesday, after yet more poor defending from a set play had cost Liverpool a win away to Ludogorets in the Uefa Champions League, he was self-consciously upbeat, insisting he was "proud" of his players and the "wonderful character" they had shown.

It all felt rather as though he was protesting too much, trying to convince others – and perhaps himself – that this had not been a slightly embarrassing slip up.

The implication is that Rodgers is feeling the pressure.

After a run of one win in nine games – and that in the English League Cup – that is probably understandable.

The summer signings have not – as yet – worked out, 13 goals have been conceded from set plays and Liverpool have lost leads six times in the final five minutes of games this season.

There are few positives to draw on. Rodgers is living on the significant credit he built up last season, but already it is possible to foresee a future in which it Is exhausted.

He and Liverpool desperately need a win against Stoke City on Saturday.

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