Echo: Legends urge fans not to panic

Liverpool fans will need to be patient with their team as they look to recover from the club's difficult start to the Barclays Premier League season, according to some of the Anfield stars of yesteryear.

There was a glittering array of great names from the legendary sides of the 70s and 80s at Formby Golf Club yesterday as the Marina Dalglish Appeal held a fundraising day for their latest project in support of the Walton Centre.

The Reds have only taken one point from their opening three league fixtures.

But the overwhelming message from those in the LFC family in attendance at Formby was that new manager Brendan Rodgers needs to be given time.

Ex-striker and hero of the iconic St Etienne match in 1977 David Fairclough said: "Everybody realised how hard those home games would be as soon as the fixtures were released - their form maybe isn't quite as disappointing as results might suggest.

"They were a little bit unfortunate on the opening day and the performance against Manchester City wasn't bad at all when only a couple of silly mistakes saw them deprived of a win.

"The Arsenal game clearly needs a bit of improvement and I can understand everyone's frustration but we've got to be patient."

Former Australian winger Craig Johnston, now based in America, said: "It's been very interesting to watch from overseas and everybody here is much closer to it than I am but you can tell from the reaction locally that people feel Brendan Rodgers is sincere and that the talk will match the deeds eventually.

"When you travel and you're away from it all, it's easy to forget how intensely scrutinised every single word uttered by the manager and the owners is but it's because people are so desperate to see them return to their former glories."

Former skipper and manager Graeme Souness said: "The fixture list has not been kind to them and I think they are short in one or two areas but they've still got a healthy group of players.

"It's a case of winning a few games, building the confidence and with the backing they have, no-one will get an easy game at Anfield.

"I hope, like every Liverpool supporter, that the results pick up."

Fellow former boss Roy Evans added: "It's been a difficult start for them. It always looked tricky on paper as soon as the fixtures came out. We had a glimmer of hope against City but obviously things didn't go so well against West Brom and Arsenal.

"The pressure is always on, that's the hardship of being the manager of Liverpool. The expectation is very high. Brendan Rodgers has said a lot of the right things but, like every manager, he's under the spotlight from the word go but hopefully things will improve."

Ex-defender and now BBC TV pundit Alan Hansen said: "It was always going to be a difficult start. When I played in the great Liverpool teams of the 70s and 80s, if you got off to a bad start the message would be don't feel sorry for yourself - pick yourselves up and quickly."

Gary Gillespie, a prodigious junior golfer before he became a footballer, said: "It's been disappointing. At the start of every season there's always expectation and with a new manager coming in, it was always going to take time.

"Everybody has to settle down and it is vitally important that Brendan Rodgers does get time as I think the club has been down the road of getting rid of managers too often in recent years.

"It has been good for fans to see some of the younger players coming through - the youth set-up down at the Academy has done particularly well and Frank McParland has done a really good job there.

"Along with Joe Allen, Raheem Sterling has probably been the stand-out player so far this season which is evidence of some of the great work that has gone into bringing some of these youngsters through."

Source: Liverpool Echo