Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers bemoans ‘hysteria’ around club

“I never worry about the players, the players have been absolutely brilliant”.

The Reds boss was in bullish mood after watching his side move into the top half of the table with a 3-2 win over Aston Villa.

“I am pretty confident that there is a group of people that don’t want me here”, he said. “I know that and everyone can see that now”. “If I have the tools, we can do the work”.

Drama was certainly the order of the day two years ago when Rodgers nearly masterminded a Liverpool success in the Premier League title race and his achievement in coming that close to his club’s first championship since 1990 features prominently in the defence he launches. “The team was eighth when I got here”.

“There are some very short memories in football and we built and produced a team to excite people throughout Europe and that should have won the league”.

“We wanted to win for the manager“, he told the Express. That’s how it works.

“There are still things to work on but I think we are going in the right direction”.

“The players and the supporters were fantastic today, we gave them something to sing about”.

Whatever his argument with outside influences, there is no doubt Liverpool have received a boost from the return of Sturridge, who scored his first goals since March after a hip operation.

“The Manchester United game we probably didn’t play like we know we can, and that’s more disappointing”. “You have got to grow and cope with the demands of playing here”.

Having slightly eased the pressure on Rodgers, Milner urged his team to stick together – with its next outing a meeting with Sion in the UEFA Europa League on Friday morning (AEST).

For all their advantage in possession, Liverpool had struggled to create noteworthy chances, but they opened the second period with a more direct approach and soon had Villa on the defensive.

This guy is a class act and Liverpool have to do all they can keep him fit in the next few months, because he will score 20 goals or more this season if they can keep him on the pitch.

“He’s still not 100 per cent in terms of fitness and sharpness and I think he coped really well with 90 minutes”, the Brazilian continued, before praising the striker’s quality.

Jamie Carragher, Graeme Souness and Jamie Redknapp have all been critical in their roles for Sky, though, when pressed, Rodgers would only say: “I am talking about people outside of here”.