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Brendan Rodgers insists he won’t walk away from Liverpool as he defiantly vowed to salvage his troubled Anfield reign.

The underfire Reds boss came out fighting ahead of Saturday’s crucial Premier League home clash with Aston Villa.

Rodgers shrugged off speculation linking Carlo Ancelotti and Jurgen Klopp with his job and is convinced he remains the right man to take Liverpool forward.

The Northern Irishman, whose side sit 13th in the Premier League after just eight points from their opening six matches, says he’s a better manager now than when he nearly won the Premier League title back in 2013/14.

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Asked if he would consider resigning amid growing discontent, Rodgers said: “No, no. No chance. I want to be a manager and the target in my own mind is to get to 1,000 games.

“I know that over the course of that, you’re looking at 20 odd years. I’m realistic enough to know that I might have another five or six jobs in order to do that. But I would love it to be here. Whilst I’m here, I’ll always do the best I can. I’m never going to walk away because I’ll always have belief that I can improve players and make things better.

“Expectations at a club like this are huge but I embrace that challenge and enjoy the pressure. Sixteen months ago we nearly won the league and I was Manager of the Year. Sixteen months later, you’re not so good at your job, when you’re actually better at your job. I think I’ve made it pretty clear – and I don’t like to go on too much about it – but I think I’ve shown what I can do when I have the tools to work, what I can deliver.”

Rodgers believes a managerial change now would only create more instability at a club which has seen a huge turnover in players – including the departures of Luis Suarez, Steven Gerrard and Raheem Sterling – over the past two summers.

However, the 42-year-old knows his future is uncertain as owners Fenway Sports Group ponder their options. The clock is ticking as Rodgers battles to arrest a worrying decline.

“Of course I would say that I should be the one here that sees it through but that’s ultimately not my decision,” he said.

“I think it’s one where the players understand how we want to work. There’s been a lot of change and we’ve lost some big players here – both in terms of characters and quality - but that’s the nature of how it is here. There’s change and you’ve got to manage that change and do the best you can with it.

“What is clear, in the couple of years I’ve been here, is when we’ve had the availability of top class players, I think I’ve proven I can build a team that plays a way of football that excites and challenges at the top end of the table.

“Obviously we lose those players but the new players come in and they’ve got that opportunity to go and prove they can do similar. My way of working is still very much the same with an extra drive to kick-start it all on again.

“I’m never complacent enough to think my job is safe. It doesn’t frighten me, I have an inherent belief in what I do. But I don’t shy away from the fact that you need to get results to stay in work.

“The responsibility will always go with the manager. You put out the team, there are players here that the club signed and it’s my job to maximise what we can get out of the players and I will continue to do that. What I’ll always do is give my best to the club and if they decide they need to change, I’ll totally respect that. This is an incredible football club and all I want to do is see it succeed. If it isn’t with me, that will be for other people to decide.

“I know I’ve given everything. I’ll walk away and hopefully I’ll get into another job where I’ll get the chance to create something special. But my focus is still very much on the now and the now is making us the best we possibly can be. Hopefully that will see me here for a longer period.”

Dating back to March, Liverpool have taken just 16 points from their 15 Premier League matches. With so many fans calling for change on the back of the 6-1 mauling at Stoke back in May, Rodgers knew it was never going to take much this term for anger and frustration to resurface.

“It’s natural,” he said.

“We ended the season with a disappointing result but I think we put that to bed with the first game of the season. We showed the character in the team and the culture we’ve created here. But we’ve had a couple of disappointing results and, of course, at a club like this it brings pressure. I knew we wouldn’t start the season and have a perfect run all the way through.”

The unrest among the fanbase was underlined by the boos ringing around Anfield both at full-time and the end of extra-time during Wednesday’s Capital One Cup tie with Carlisle United.

Liverpool sneaked through on penalties but there was no respite for the manager. Victory over Villa on Saturday is critical and Rodgers has urged fans to get behind a team which is clearly desperately low on confidence.

“My message to the fans is to keep faith in the team and the players,” he said. “It’s not about me, the most important thing is the club’s success. Stay with the team. The players are working tirelessly. It is an honest group.

“You win back the trust of fans by winning games and performing. But there are also probably supporters who were critical when we were winning as well. I never get too over concerned because when we were flying, there were still critics. Now we’re losing there are still critics.

“Of course, we need to improve our level of performance. I understand that. The responsibility comes with the manager. It’s important that we can give the supporters faith in the team.

“I’ll do my best to prepare the team to play exciting, dynamic football. In this early period it will only take a couple of results to turn it around and go on and have a really good season. One win and we’re back near the top four.”