Brendan Rodgers admitted he is managing a fractured dressing room after Liverpool’s 3-0 defeat at a resurgent Manchester United.
Wayne Rooney, Juan Mata and Robin van Persie inflicted Liverpool’s seventh defeat of the Barclays Premier League season to move within five points of Manchester City in second.
Rodgers, who faces a tricky Capital One Cup quarter-final away to Bournemouth on Wednesday, is struggling to find solutions after this latest defeat.
The Liverpool manager said: ‘We have to recapture the team ethos. With the emphasis of the team, it is clear to me that we are searching to find solutions. The players are working hard and giving everything. In every dressing room there have always been issues
but it is not something I discuss outside the dressing room. The players are honest but we are not getting results. I can’t fault their commitment because they gave everything.’
Rodgers axed Belgian keeper Simon Mignolet and replaced him with Brad Jones for the trip to Old Trafford and also changed to a 3-4-3 system.
It played straight into United’s hands and Louis van Gaal’s team, who have now won six games in a row, were 2-0 up at the break.
Rodgers added: ‘Simon has been fine, I spoke to him after the Basle game in the Champions League and he understood it.
‘Brad Jones didn’t have much to do and he’s ended up picking the ball out of the net three times.
‘This will be for an indefinite period. In my first year Brad did well and sometimes coming out of the firing line can help.
‘I just felt after Basle that there was a chance to make the decision.’
Rooney picked up United’s first goal but their next, scored by Mata, should have been disallowed for offside. Van Persie wrapped it up for United after the break with a clinical strike.
Despite the emphatic scoreline, United keeper David de Gea was man of the match for a string of excellent saves from Mario Balotelli and Raheem Sterling.
Rodgers added: ‘We didn’t deserve to lose, but we need to be more clinical.
‘Their keeper got man of the match and that tells you everything. We created more chances against United than in the last five or six games but we are disappointed with the first and the third goal.
‘The second one was clearly offside. With the players we had we did the best we could.’
Van Gaal’s side are eight points behind Chelsea and are third in the Barclays Premier League after this convincing win.
Despite their good form the Dutch coach refuses to accept that his team can challenge for the title in his first season in England. He added: ‘The most important match is always the next one. We are winning now, six matches in a row but we have to improve our style.
‘We can kill the game easily, but we must improve. Everyone is happy now — my cook is happy and my wife is happy because we beat Liverpool.
‘We have a way of playing that takes into account the qualities of the opponent and my staff are always looking for the way we can inflict pain on the opponent.
‘You need luck, but you can force the luck. That was not the case at the start of the season.’
Van Persie added: ‘The fans were absolutely brilliant from the start to the finish. They were our 12th man again. David was outstanding again. He was absolutely brilliant like always.’
Defender Marcos Rojo pulled out on Saturday, though Van Gaal refused to discuss the extent of the defender’s injury. – Daily Mail