Liverpool ‘not mentally weak’ says Brendan Rodgers

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers insists his side are not mentally weak as they look to salvage their season in their FA Cup quarter-final replay against Blackburn at Ewood Park tomorrow night.

Back-to-back defeats against their main rivals blew a huge hole in their Champions League hopes, with losses to Manchester United and Arsenal in matches where a draw was seen as the bare minimum.

That has echoes of last season when, seemingly on an unstoppable march to their first title since 1990, they slipped up against Chelsea and fell apart at Palace as City beat them to the finish line.

However Rodgers, who has been forced to deny allegations of a fall-out with players in a ’crisis meeting’ at the club’s Melwood training ground on Sunday, insists there is no psychological barrier preventing his players from finishing off what they start.

“We have a lot of young players who are still adapting and learning unfortunately but I don’t think it is a mental barrier that the team has, it is just something we need to continue to develop.It is a very difficult challenge when you look at the four teams above us but we have to strive to have no excuses and work hard to get back in there again.”