Liverpool Favourite Mark Lawrenson Blasts Manager and Players Despite Stoke Win

Liverpool favourite Mark Lawrenson has claimed that the club haven't been good enough this season across the board, insisting the manager and players need to step up if they hope to achieve their objectives.

The Reds started the season looking to build on their Champions League hopes and challenge for the title once more, but after shock losses in Europe and the league they currently sit in 11<sup>th place in the table.

The side can still qualify for the next round of the Champions League if they beat Basel in their final group match, and they defeated Stoke in a must-win game this weekend, but Lawrenson still argues there's much work to be done by every player in the squad as well as the manager himself.

On the Reds' chances of Champions League qualification, he told the Echo: "Can you really back Liverpool to go through on the evidence of this season?

"It's not just that they aren't playing well as a team. An even greater concern is that almost every individual player is performing below their best. Come on, can anyone tell me who is actually playing well for us?

"Some may have the odd good day but they have all had bad days. None of them have done themselves justice.

"The goalkeeper, defence, midfield, wide areas and forwards have not been good enough. And you can chuck the manager into that.

"Brendan Rodgers keeps changing the team and is searching for his best combination, but sometimes it is better to settle on one line-up and stick to it for a little while.

"Players are being dropped regularly, and that's not healthy as they are starting to believe they have to play brilliantly to stay in."

Lawrenson continued: "You want competition for places, of course. But you don't want players being scared to make mistakes because they know they'll be instantly dropped.

"I was banging the drum for Rickie Lambert last week, so was delighted to see him score in successive games. He has to keep on starting regardless of who is fit or not."

Liverpool face Leicester and Sunderland over the course of the next week and points from both fixtures will be a minimum requirement for Rodgers to keep the pressure at a minimum over his decisions.