• Premier League

Sacking made me stronger, says struggling Rodgers

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers says his sacking at Reading five years ago helped him develop the strength of character to pull through his current problems at Anfield.

Rodgers is facing speculation about his future on Merseyside, having seen his side's form slide since he led them to second place in the Premier League last season.

Liverpool are 11th in the table and suffered the additional blow of going out of the Champions League at the group stage earlier this month.

• Liverpool to finish in the top four this season, at 15/2 with bet365*
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Rodgers was sacked by Championship club Reading five years ago to the day, after just six months in charge, but returned to management in 2010 with Swansea, whom he guided to the Premier League, before moving to Anfield in 2012.

"I'll never forget the day. It was a Wednesday, December 16," said Rodgers. "It was probably the making of me as a manager. It's not until you have that experience that you can really analyse and reflect on the things you can be better at.

"And certainly for me, after that period, it gave me the chance to reflect and then to be better, for the good of my career. And that was the way it worked out.

Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool lost 3-0 at Manchester United and now sit 11th in the Premier League © Getty Images

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"I was able to go on and do a decent job at Swansea. And up until this year, I would hope people would say I've done a reasonable job here.

"But no matter how well you're doing as a manager, you're always going to have tough periods, and this season has been tough.

"I've got great confidence in how I work and how my staff here work, and look at the commitment of the players - the effort and the spirit of the team. I think we'll get that. When we do and we get some consistent results, we can push on."

Rodgers takes his team to Championship leaders Bournemouth for a League Cup quarter-final on Wednesday night, looking to bounce back from Sunday's 3-0 Premier League defeat at Manchester United.

He has faced criticism over the club's transfer spending in the summer, with nine players brought in for more than £100 million and making little impact.

Reports on Tuesday suggested that Liverpool's American owners Fenway Sports Group are planning a review of the club's transfer committee, which includes Rodgers, chief executive Ian Ayre, head of recruitment Dave Fallows and head of technical performance Michael Edwards.

"I'm not aware of that. That's obviously something that's maybe within the club," said Rodgers. "But we're very analytical of performance, and we look at how we're doing in a push for constant improvement.

"You need to analyse and reflect. My work is very much focused on players we do have and trying to improve them, and ultimately to improve them as a team.

"I think I've shown in my career as a coach and a manager that's what I get my teeth into. We're a stable club. We're disappointed with how things are going. But we're working very hard to bring back the confidence."

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