Rodgers promises Sterling recall
Published on: Monday, September 15, 2014
LIVERPOOL: Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers confirmed Raheem Sterling will be restored to the starting line-up for their next match after he defended his decision to rest the youngster for the majority of a 1-0 home defeat by Aston Villa.The Reds were unable to break down the defence of an organised Villa side that took an early lead thanks to Gabby Agbonlahor's close-range strike from a corner in the ninth minute.Sterling, who played the full 90 minutes of England's recent Euro 2016 qualifier against Switzerland, was eventually introduced for the final half hour of Saturday's Premier League clash at Anfield.
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The 19-year-old gave Liverpool more of an attacking threat when he came on for Adam Lallana but he was unable to get his side back into the game.However, Rodgers insisted he was right to rest Sterling and revealed he will be back in the starting XI for Liverpool's Champions League match against Bulgarian outfit Ludogorets Razgrad at Anfield on Tuesday."It is a long, long season and it was an opportunity to give Raheem a break because he probably won't have many this season," Rodgers said."He will certainly play on Tuesday night. But I said at the beginning of the season that I need to trust all the players we have.
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"We've got a big couple of months - a really exciting couple of months - coming up. Looking at it, I felt this was a game we could do that. If he didn't have international football, it would have been a different case," the Northern Irishman added.
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"He came on and was bright. He's going to be, and already is, a big player for us."Rodgers acknowledged his side lacked quality required to undo the Villa defence in Sterling's absence but insisted he had faith in the other players at his disposal."As a team we probably didn't quite have the intensity in our game and the speed in our game," he explained.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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