Liverpool news: Under pressure Brendan Rodgers pleads with Liverpool fans to

Both Jurgen Klopp and Carlo Ancelotti have been linked with the manager’s role at Liverpool in the past week, with the Reds’ League Cup penalty shootout victory over Carlisle United heaping pressure on Rodgers, who said “you take that as part and parcel of the game“.

Tim Sherwood is backing his Spanish neighbour Brendan Rodgers and claims the Liverpool boss could have coached Real Madrid ahead of Aston Villa’s visit to Anfield.

But while Rodgers was pleased to see his side rewarded for a much-improved display, he criticised unnamed outsiders and the “hysteria” they create around the club.

Liverpool fans are unlikely to describe themselves as “delighted” by the result so much as furious that it took penalties to eke out a win over a League 2 side to advance to the next round of the Capital One Milk Coca-Cola Cup.

“How do I block it out?”

“I’ve never been able to say this in public before but I was seriously concerned that we thought we could blow Chelsea away”, Gerrard wrote in My Story. “I don’t worry about myself”.

“It doesn’t frighten me and I have an inherent belief in what I do”.

A year ago Rodgers told Spanish sports daily Marca that he hoped to be manager of Liverpool for 20 years. “That might not all be here”.

Daniel Sturridge is in line to start for the first time this season, though Rodgers warned that the injury-prone England striker can’t be rushed.

New signing Christian Benteke won’t feature against his former club Villa due to a hamstring complaint and captain Jordan Henderson is out with a broken bone in his foot.

“In terms of names linked, when you’re a manager of a club this size there is always going to be speculation about your job, especially when not winning”, he said on Friday. One win and you’re back in and around the top four. But the Northern Irishman insists he is enjoying the pressure of the job and believes this tricky period will help him in the long run.

“Because this is an incredible football club and all I want to do is see it succeed”.

“I think I have shown in my time here that when I work with the players at the level we have had before we have gone on and achieve almost great things”. That’s why we all work here. Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren also came off with an ankle injury but Liverpool assistant manager Gary McAllister played down concerns.