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It's a tough time to be Brendan Rodgers right now. The Liverpool manager has won back-to-back games, but the manner of his team's advancement to the next round of the League Cup left a lot to be desired for many. Liverpool's result on Saturday certainly altered provided Rodgers with what might end up being a stay of execution for at least one more match, and it's not a point lost on one of the club's more seasoned veterans.
"We wanted to win for the manager," said Lucas Leiva after the 3-2 win over Aston Villa. "We know what has been said about him and think we showed we are a group of players behind him and trying to make everything right. We know the pressure is on him but we wanted to play the way he wants us to play and I think we did that."
Reports that Rodgers has lost the dressing room seem wide of the mark, then, if what Lucas says about his teammates is true. Rodgers is under an incredible amount of scrutiny and for leaders in the dressing room to be taking up this position speaks volumes about what his relationship with his players is right now.
Of course, wanting to win one for the manager is but the first step if your aim is to help him avoid getting sacked. Liverpool will need to string together a series of wins over the next few weeks if they're to help Rodgers get off the hot seat, and two European entanglements and two tough matches against Everton and Tottenham certainly won't make things easy for anyone.
