Brendan Rodgers: "No-one better than me for Liverpool job"

Brendan Rodgers emphatically dismissed speculation over his job security as Liverpool manager in a press conference on Thursday afternoon.

The Northern Irishman has come under fire after the Reds threw away their last remaining hope of silverware with a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa in the last four of the FA Cup.

The loss came just a few weeks after Liverpool's back-to-back defeats to top-four rivals Manchester United and Arsenal scuppered their chances of a Champions League finish.

But despite the fact that Rodgers' side trail fourth-placed Manchester City by seven points with six games to go until the end of the season, he insisted he is still the best man for the job.

"Very much so," Rodgers responded, when asked whether he had confidence that he would still be in charge come the start of next season. "I don’t think there is anyone better. That’s the reality of how I see it.

"Three months ago I was a tactical genius, performing to a good level.

"We lost some important games and now I’m not so good. That’s football, people will speculate.

"I never get too carried away when we win or overly disappointed when we lose as you have to look to the next game.

"I have a strong relationship with the owners. They understand this was going to be a process.

The Reds were emphatically disposed of by Tim Sherwood's relegation-threatened Villa side at Wembley last Sunday, but Rodgers insisted that the young Liverpool side can learn from their disappointment.

He said: "This isn’t a group of ready made players used to winning. I’ve not taken over a machine that for 10 years was winning trophies.

"That’s something we are clear on. But of course we want to be better next season and improve on the performance level."

"Last weekend was a huge disappointment for us all. This week the players have worked very well in training and we need to learn from the disappointment."

With speculation over Rodgers' job - current Borussia Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp has been linked with his job at the helm.

The German announced last week that he will be leaving Dortmund and having reportedly been on FSG's shortlist back in 2012 - would clearly appeal, but Rodgers is not worried about the apparent competition.

"When you’re at a club like Liverpool you will have many names mentioned - that’s the mark of being at such a huge club, a worldwide club," Rodgers said.

"It’s not a problem. It’s something that happens. If you lose a couple of games, others will be linked with the job.

"That will happen whether I’m doing good, bad or indifferent because this is such a big club."

Though Liverpool have suffered some notably disappointing results over the last month, Rodgers has insisted that the Reds are "on a par" with the level they should be for such an unexperienced side.

The Northern Irishman insisted that after selling Luis Suarez in the summer, in addition to Daniel Sturridge's injury woes - the club were always going to feel the impact.

"If you take the emotion out of last weekend, this was a team who over achieved last season. We were not expected to get in the top four," he said.

"The same team had a world class striker in it and someone on fire in Daniel Sturridge when fit.

"That team deemed not good enough for the top four went on a great run and nearly won the title.

"We lost those two players with Luis leaving and Daniel getting injured and brought in others to improve the squad.

"Where we sit now, fifth place and having reached two semi-finals is probably on a par with where we’re at.

"Of course our ambition is greater than that. We have to be planning forward. That means bringing in players in the summer.

"That’s something that’s well underway. The summer will be a great opportunity to kick on and keep improving."

But whilst the entire club are looking towards the coming months to rectify a poor campaign, Rodgers has not yet conceded defeat in the race for the top-four.

The Reds boss has insisted he will be looking for a strong response from his players this Saturday when his side take on Tony Pulis' West Brom at the Hawthorns.

"We want to finish the season strong and take that momentum into the following season," he said.

"We missed out on one of our goals which was to win a trophy.

"Another was to get in the top four. That will be difficult but we need to be fighting right to the very end.

"It’s a distant possibility but we have to be there if anyone makes mistakes and be ready to take advantage."