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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Paul Clarke

Brendan Rodgers sends title message to Liverpool ahead of Manchester City against Leicester

Liverpool trail Manchester City by one point in the Premier League title race and are looking for favours in the final two weekends of the season.

The Reds need Man City to slip up in at least one of their final two games, while Liverpool must try and win out against Newcastle United and Wolves.

Liverpool will not be getting any favours from former boss Rafa Benitez, who will see his side host the Reds on Saturday evening.

We're building up to Jurgen Klopp's pre-Newcastle press conference HERE

But what about another former Liverpool manager in Brendan Rodgers? Despite Liverpool fans hoping for some help when Leicester City face the Blues on Monday Night Football, Rodgers has issued this response.

“These are exciting games in this last period of the season and we will look to give our best," Rodgers explained.

"Our only concern is ourselves. We have to concentrate on our own performance enough to get some good results in these last three games. It then gives us a great springboard to finish the season, then have a real good pre-season to get ready for next year.

"You've seen me play the younger players, I want to see how they are under pressure in the big games.

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"We will be doing everything we can, in every game, to get a result so I think its a wonderful opportunity for us. It's certainly not a negative."

Asked in his pre-match press conference if it would be extra special to beat City and help Liverpool, Rodgers gave a blunt response.

He said: “Not really. I am employed by Leicester. My focus is on Leicester City.

“There’s no comparison really. Liverpool back then was at a different stage. We had young players, loan players. We went from eighth to second in a couple of years, and nearly won the title, so it’s a different dynamic. We deserved to finish where we did, which was second. We just didn't quite get over the line over the course of 38 games.

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“But we showed with young players that it is possible, and lot of those players, like Jordan Henderson, who is a fantastic player, he was a young player then, and those experiences he would have learned from.

“It’s exciting to be involved and being able to effect it but my thoughts are solely with Leicester and doing what we can to get a result.”

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He added: “We respect that it will be a tough game for us but we have a game and a model that can beat any team.

“Our players are improving all the time, you know you have to defend very well, be strong, be aggressive, be compact. But we have speed and can be incisive to make the last pass.

“The importance is to ensure you defend well and you’re aggressive and then show qualities when we have the ball.”

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