Brendan Rodgers says Liverpool will recover from West Brom defeat

 

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers admitted his new side suffered "a bad day at the office" as they opened the season with a 3-0 defeat at West Brom.

Zoltan Gera, Peter Odemwingie - from the penalty spot - and Romelu Lukaku scored for the Baggies as Liverpool also had Daniel Agger sent off.

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"Liverpool have got off to an horrific start. They are up against Manchester City next in the league and if they had got one point against West Brom the pressure would have been off. To me it looked as though they could have done with some height in the box. But [Rodgers] did not introduce Andy Carroll until the final 10 minutes or so. I would have started him."

"It was just a bad day at the office," said Rodgers. "It's going to take time. We'll lick our wounds and move on."

"I thought the players coped very well with the ideas we have given them."

Liverpool, whose defeat could have been heavier had Shane Long not missed a penalty for West Brom, entertain reigning champions Manchester City in their next league game on 26 August, while they have matches against Arsenal and Manchester United on the horizon.

But Rodgers is confident of a response from his players after insisting he was pleased with their efforts at The Hawthorns - in particular £15m signing from Swansea City Joe Allen.

Liverpool played the final quarter of the game with 10 men following Agger's red card for a foul on Shane Long.

"I thought the players showed they have coped very well with the ideas we have given them, but once we went down to 10 men it was very difficult," added Rodgers.

"I don't want to go on and on about referees but I thought the two penalty decisions were very harsh, and a third decision if you include the sending-off.

"The sending-off kills you really, especially when it is a new team but I have got to give big credit to the players. They gave me everything."

Clarke delighted with West Brom win

Rodgers with impressed with Allen, saying: "I thought he was outstanding. For a boy who had just walked into a new team he was superb."

Luis Suarez had Liverpool's best chances but failed to find the target and was also shown a yellow card for gesturing at a referee's assistant after being ruled offside.

"When you're a winner a game like that hurts. In my short period working with [Suarez] he has been first class, a wonderful player and a good man who works hard every day," added Rodgers.

"We are trying to move forward and we have got to move on."

Meanwhile, Liverpool are hoping to find out whether loan moves for Real Madrid midfielder Nuri Sahin and Barcelona winger Cristian Tello have been successful.

"There have been lots of names linked but there's nothing to report," he said.

Analysis

"For those of a Liverpool persuasion expecting instant rewards from a young manager assuming his biggest task, this was not so much a sharp wake-up call as a kick out of bed and a shove into a cold shower"

West Brom manager Steve Clarke, who was assistant to Kenny Dalglish at Liverpool last season, said he was delighted with the result but would not be getting carried away.

He said: "The players did what we asked them to do. We were a threat going forward against one of the top teams, and Liverpool will be a top team this season.

"I take satisfaction from the result. It is a positive boost for us to get a result like that against Liverpool, but we know it is a long season.

"We will enjoy the three points but come in tomorrow and start again preparing for our next game."