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Cape Town - Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has defended his captain Steven Gerrard after critics suggest it's time the midfielder was dropped.
Gerrard was disappointing in the Reds' 3-1 defeat at West Ham on Saturday and has been criticised for his performances for both club and country following that vital slip against Chelsea last season.
After narrowly losing out on the title with his boyhood club and enduring a miserable World Cup with England, it seems that Father Time may finally be catching up with him.
Rodgers, however, is unperturbed by the criticism and, according to the Mirror, believes Gerrard is still a "brilliant player".
“I have no concerns,” said the Liverpool boss. “He’s a brilliant player for us, really talented.
“He is at the age where we need to treat him individually. We want him to be involved in the big games because of his experience.”
Rather than Gerrard specifically, Rodgers is more concerned about Liverpool’s poor form overall and he admits he has only been pleased with their display at Tottenham.
“We have conceded eight goals and the majority of those could have been avoided. But for us as a team, we need to be better. We’re still looking to find our performance level, which apart from Tottenham, we’ve not been at.”
Rodgers will make changes for tonight's Capital One Cup clash against Championship side Middlesbrough, as well as for Saturday's Merseyside derby. Both Jordan Rossiter and Rickie Lambert are set to make the starting line-ups.
Gerrard was disappointing in the Reds' 3-1 defeat at West Ham on Saturday and has been criticised for his performances for both club and country following that vital slip against Chelsea last season.
After narrowly losing out on the title with his boyhood club and enduring a miserable World Cup with England, it seems that Father Time may finally be catching up with him.
Rodgers, however, is unperturbed by the criticism and, according to the Mirror, believes Gerrard is still a "brilliant player".
“I have no concerns,” said the Liverpool boss. “He’s a brilliant player for us, really talented.
“He is at the age where we need to treat him individually. We want him to be involved in the big games because of his experience.”
Rather than Gerrard specifically, Rodgers is more concerned about Liverpool’s poor form overall and he admits he has only been pleased with their display at Tottenham.
“We have conceded eight goals and the majority of those could have been avoided. But for us as a team, we need to be better. We’re still looking to find our performance level, which apart from Tottenham, we’ve not been at.”
Rodgers will make changes for tonight's Capital One Cup clash against Championship side Middlesbrough, as well as for Saturday's Merseyside derby. Both Jordan Rossiter and Rickie Lambert are set to make the starting line-ups.
