Brendan Rodgers was not shying away from his feelings as he reflected back on the weekend defeat to Manchester United
Brendan Rodgers was not shying away from his feelings as he reflected back on the weekend defeat to Manchester United
Rodgers told the Evening Post "I don't like being the heroic loser
"That doesn't sit well with me, but we can only be proud of the way we performed.
"We had players out there who have come through League Two. They were told they were not good enough for League One and not good enough for the Championship.
"They were playing against players they have watched on the television for years, and in the first half we were a bit stand-offish.
"I said to the players at half-time: 'Now you know what shirt you are swapping, let's play the game'.
"After that we gave Manchester United a game.
"They were uncomfortable in the second half and I felt we deserved something out of it in the end.
You look at Wayne Rooney — there is a world-class player playing right in front of your eyes," Rodgers added.
"We had guys who have played in League Two trying to control that and in the second half we showed our style, commitment, quality and resilience to stay in the game right up until the 93rd minute.
"Lots of other teams with a lot more quality than us have failed to do that.
"I think the side Sir Alex picked was a massive compliment to our players," Rodgers said.
"He put out what is probably his most hard-working team. Players like (Ji-Sung) Park, Rooney, (Nemanja) Vidic and Ferdinand — he puts them out in the big games that he knows he needs to win.
"I think he recognised that United's task here was going to be a difficult one.
"Scott's bitterly disappointed, but I look at the ground he made up just to get into that position," Rodgers said.
"It's quite a straightforward chance for him, but if he keeps getting in there the goals will come.
"We transformed the game in the second half," reckoned Rodgers.
"Some of our passing, movement and rotation was a joy to watch.
"I like watching my players when they perform like that, and playing that way we will win more games than we lose."