Saturday, September 11, 2010

Roy Hodgson Denies The Club’s Takeover Saga Is Affecting His Squad

Roy Hodgson insists speculation regarding Liverpool's ownership is having no impact on the team’s performance.

Current Anfield proprietors Tom Hicks and George Gillett have until October 6 to repay the £237 million debt to the Royal Bank of Scotland.

Despite a number of interested parties during the summer, including Chinese businessman Kenny Huang, the American owners are still no closer to selling the club before the deadline.

Hodgson has admitted he is being kept informed over the ongoing saga and concedes the responsibility of finding new investment is a difficult task.

"I am kept abreast but I don't keep abreast [of the current situation]," Hodgson told reporters.

"The people dealing with it, who have a tough job on their hands, are kind enough to keep me informed if anything is happening."

The takeover speculation overshadowed much of Liverpool's pre-season but Hodgson believes the off-field problems are not affecting his squad.

“I have a job to do here and frankly it doesn't affect us that deeply in our day-to-day work; the players come and train, we work hard, we get paid,” he added.

"It is a major issue for the club I know but it is something we at Melwood [Liverpool's training ground] can't actually do anything about and I can only, like the rest of the club, wait and hope a solution is found which everyone finds satisfactory.

"I can't say it is a distraction and I don't think I've seen any distraction with any of the work on the field or the games we have played.

"It is an area where we at ground level can do nothing other than keep playing, keep doing our best and hoping the solution is found which everyone at the club finds acceptable."

No comments: