Roy Sounds Warning To Fringe Players

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson
believes that some of the senior
players who played in the Carling
Cup third round defeat to League
Two side Northamption will have
to convince him that they
deserve another chance in a
Liverpool shirt. Speaking after the
humiliating defeat he said:
“They (the players) will have
to do a lot of work to get
themselves back into favour,
but it ’s early doors for some
of them. Some of the players
who played tonight are still
quite young. But it ’s enough
for me to say I am very
disappointed and you can
see that on my face. I did not
expect to be sitting here
having lost a penalty
shootout, which is the worst
possible way of losing
matches I can assure you. I
have lost a UEFA Cup final on
penalties, so I know how
bitter they are, what a lottery
they are and what damage
they can do to the players
who miss them. It ’s one
game. It’s a very
disappointing game but
there are lots more games to
play and I would expect
these players to be very, very
disappointed about their
performance tonight, to
learn from it, to bounce back
and if they ’re going to be
Liverpool players, to kick on
from this very low point in
everyone ’s career.”
Roy believes it is currently a very
difficult time at the club during
this transitional period:
The fact is the Carling Cup is
a competition which we are
capable of doing well in and
this is the third round,
playing against a lower
league club, so if it doesn ’t
result in a victory it is a very
negative thing. It ’s one of
many setbacks we’re facing
at the moment and it’s a
tough period to work and
live through, but we will
work and live through it. We
will survive it and get better.
I will learn an awful lot from
this defeat tonight about an
awful lot of people. It’s not
just myself who will be
disappointed and upset that
things didn ’t go our way –
there are lots of players who
played tonight who will be
disappointed as well. ”