Steven Gerrard believes Liverpool's players were to blame for the short reign of Roy Hodgson at Anfield.
Liverpool faced their former manager at West Brom on Saturday evening, less than a year after Hodgson left the Reds. After a disastrous six-month spell that saw Liverpool lose at home to the likes of Blackpool and Northampton, Hodgson was replaced by Kenny Dalglish.
Since then the Reds have found new owners, who have backed Dalglish to the tune of £50 million during the summer transfer window. Liverpool are now back challenging for Champions League spots and playing an improved brand of football, something for which Dalglish has received much credit.
When Hodgson came up against Liverpool at the Hawthorns in April, West Brom won 2-1.
Liverpool skipper Gerrard admits things have improved immeasurably under their current boss, but he blames the players for Hodgson's failings. The likes of Fernando Torres and Joe Cole, in particular, failed to produce for Hodgson, and Gerrard admits attitudes were not right.
"It was a tricky time for Roy, it was a tricky time for everyone at the club, with the owners changing. Maybe he became Liverpool manager at the wrong time," Gerrard told ESPN. "When the job became vacant, there were an awful lot of supporters that wanted Kenny to get the job, so from day one there was extra pressure on Roy to deliver.
"He's a football man, he's experienced and he's a great guy. He's got the reputation in the game because he's been a successful manager. Just because it didn't work out here, doesn't mean he becomes a bad manager. He knows that at Liverpool you get judged on results. The results weren't good enough and unfortunately in football, managers get the blame.
"But I was one of the players who came out after he left and made sure people knew it wasn't just Roy Hodgson's fault. It was the players underperforming and not delivering. That was the sad part."
Liverpool has not lost any of their last six games in all competitions, and Gerrard credits both Dalglish and the club's owners for the turnaround. "Things have improved since Kenny's come in," Gerrard confirmed. "The new owners... there's happy faces from top to bottom of the club now and we move forward."
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