• Premier League

Rodgers: City draw a warning for us

ESPN staff
April 17, 2014
Brendan Rodgers: "We certainly don't have our hands up in the air" © Getty Images
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Brendan Rodgers believes Manchester City's draw with Sunderland provides a stark warning for his Liverpool side that they have no room for complacency in the title race.

City's failure to beat bottom club Sunderland increased Liverpool's chances of winning the title, but Rodgers sees it as a reminder not to overlook Sunday's opponents Norwich, who are also battling relegation.

'We want to do it the right way'

  • Brendan Rodgers insists he will not compromise Liverpool's values of "humility and class" as he continues in his quest to the club's 24-year wait for a domestic championship.
  • "We will try to do it in the right way - I take great pride in winning in the most sporting way we can," Rodgers said.
  • Click here to read the full article

"Things don't fall into place for you. You have to make them happen," Rodgers said. "There were two things for me that came out of last night. [City's result] was a warning sign for everyone. With four games of the season to go, there's nothing guaranteed. I've said that all along.

"Our rivals may have dropped points, but that's irrelevant. We have to do the job. I'm not sure if winning the title will come down to who copes best with the mental pressure. It certainly won't be for us. We might get a bit of bad luck or pay for a genuine honest mistake.

"We've been asked a lot of questions over these last two or three months, and the players have been magnificent in their response to that.

"We certainly don't have our hands up in the air. The finish line is still a wee way out yet."

Rodgers said in March that his team were a year ahead of schedule in terms of their league position.

He insisted then that the priority this season had been only to qualify for the Champions League, which Liverpool will do if they win at Norwich on Sunday, or if Everton fail to beat Manchester United.

But a run of 10 successive league victories have left Liverpool two points clear at the top with four matches to play, and a return of 10 points from those fixtures will guarantee the club their first league title since 1990.

Rodgers' side are now the bookies' favourites, but he insists that does not bring an extra burden. He said: "We deal with things the same as we have from the very first game of the season, really.

"There's no added pressure. There's no more or less pressure than there was then. We'll look to win the game at the weekend. We're still in check with reality in terms of where we're at.

"We've made great progress this season and our objective to qualify for the Champions League was always going to be a very, very difficult one. But we're still on course for that. If we can get a win at the weekend, that would be rubber-stamped for us."

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