• Premier League

Frustrated Hodgson pleads for patience

ESPN staff
November 15, 2010
Liverpool were comprehensively beaten by Stoke © Getty Images
Enlarge

Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has pleaded for patience from the club's fans after the Reds sank to a tame 2-0 defeat at Stoke City on Saturday.

After enduring a turbulent start to life at Anfield, Hodgson appeared to have steadied the ship with a run of six matches unbeaten that included an impressive triumph over Chelsea.

But Liverpool were second best on their visit to the Britannia Stadium, with a lack of attacking fluency contributing to a laboured performance. Now Hodgson has urged supporters to trust his assessment that the club is moving forward under his tutelage.

"I don't see why [the Stoke loss] should give us enormous reason to doubt what we are doing or doubt what we are capable of doing," he told the club's official website. "I don't expect this result to dent confidence any more than any bad result does or any end to a good run dents your confidence.

"We are talking about two or three games in a season. I find it hard to have to explain that every time you win a game things are flying forward and when you get a bad result they are flying backwards.

"I'm a 38-to-55-game-a-season man and I make my judgment over that period. I don't get euphoric when we play well against Chelsea and I certainly won't become anything other than realistic and determined to move on to the next step when we lose a game."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
Close

ABOUT COOKIES

To help make this website better, to improve and personalize your experience and for advertising purposes, are you happy to accept cookies and other technologies.

More Info Here Cookie Choices