Jamie Carragher lends support to under pressure Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers

Jamie Carragher believes Brendan Rodgers remains the man to lead Liverpool and claims it would be “nonsense” to change the manager at Anfield.

After last season’s runners-up finish in the Premier League, Liverpool have struggled in the current term and stand 10th in the table after 16 rounds of matches, already 18 points behind leaders Chelsea.

Former Liverpool defender Carragher is waiting to see whether the owners, headed by John W Henry, allow Rodgers time to put the team in a better order than they find themselves after Sunday’s 3-0 defeat to Manchester United.

Asked whether Rodgers is the right leader for Liverpool, Carragher said: “Yes, he is.”

He acknowledges patience will run out if Liverpool do not improve, and Carragher sees potential trouble ahead, in the shape of a tricky trip to face Championship leaders Bournemouth in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday.

Carragher told Sky Sports 1: “These new owners are different from the past people who were in charge, who always gave every manager – Roy Evans, Rafael Benitez, Gerard Houllier – five or six years.

“They were very quick with Roy Hodgson, Kenny Dalglish and (former director of football) Damien Comolli, so I think it has changed, the way of doing things from when I was there.

“But I think when you get rid of a manager halfway through a season, I think it’s nonsense, I don’t understand it.

“And also on the back of what Brendan Rodgers did last season. In the time I was playing I never played in a team who played that well or got that close to the title.

“But when after that you spend £120million and make your worst start in 50 years, you’re going to be under pressure.

“Now is not the time to be talking about the manager. The next two games – Bournemouth and Arsenal: Bournemouth could be a banana skin, it could be a very tough game, and so could Arsenal.

“But at the end of the season, judge this team and judge Brendan Rodgers then.

“What he did last year, I think he’s got enough in the bank to get him through to the end of the season, but it’s got to improve.”

PA