:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/44325584/1638697.0.jpg)
As Liverpool prepare to face Manchester United at Old Trafford this weekend, and as pressure on Brendan Rodgers mounts ever higher, one voice in the crowd is speaking out in support of the embattled manager.
Club legend and former Liverpool captain Steve McMahon spoke to ESPN recently, and spoke very frankly that it is his belief that Liverpool are better off staying with Rodgers for now, even if current results aren't quite where everyone would like them to be. "They should stick with Rodgers, given what a great job he did last season," McMahon said in support of his former club's boss. "But he's not kidding anyone if he thinks the team are anywhere close to where they need to be at the moment."
McMahon comes from an era of Liverpool football that saw stability and drive bring much success to Anfield, but that kind of stability has become something of a rarity in the modern era of football. McMahon's definitely right to believe that in many cases, keeping things consistent at the top of the team structure can cure many ills with patience and hard work. The question, then is whether or not Liverpool can afford to show that patience at a time when one bad season can have long-lasting impact on the club's future.
Many are starting to speculate that a loss and poor performance against Manchester United on Sunday, coupled with this week's Champions League exit, could be the death knell for Rodgers. While McMahon didn't offer up an opinion on Rodgers' immediate job security, he does sound less than confident that Liverpool can get a result. "It's massive but it's difficult to say if the Manchester United game has come at the right time or the wrong time for Liverpool," he told ESPN. "It could go either way in terms of building up their confidence or knocking it back down."
McMahon also admitted that with the failure against Basel and Liverpool's poor recent form, Rodgers seems to be "losing it a bit" of late. On a whole, though, McMahon is now and has always been positive about the impact that Rodgers can have for Liverpool, and if someone as smart and tied-in to the game as McMahon supports Rodgers, that's good enough for a lot of fans.
