Roy Hodgson insists Liverpool fans cannot expect him to wave a magic wand and fix his side's problems.
Manager urges Reds supporters to be realistic
Roy Hodgson insists Liverpool fans cannot expect him to wave a magic wand and fix his side's problems.
The Reds, whose Boxing Day clash against Blackpool has been postponed due to the cold snap, currently sit mid-table having struggled in the Premier League this season, winning six out of their 17 games played so far.
A top four finish remains in under-pressure Hodgson's sights, but he has called for a sense of reality from the club's supporters.
Magic wand
"Fans are waiting for a man with a magic wand that can turn all of the ills that everyone has seen into something different," Hodgson said in the
Sunday Mirror.
"Those of us who work in the game and have been working in the game a long time know that magic wand doesn't exist.
"Two years ago people were suggesting Arsene Wenger had had a good run at Arsenal and it was time to bring in the man with the magic wand. That's what we have to live with."
Hodgson succeeded Rafa Benitez at Anfield in the summer having guided Fulham to the Europa League final last season.
And the manager feels his success at Craven Cottage has not helped the unreasonably lofty expectations placed upon him.
He said: "I know that I am capable of doing this job, but maybe the expectations and ambitions of the club were too high and weren't lessened by the fact that I came off the back of such a good season.
"People may have thought I would turn it around and unfortunately that's not been the case and we have to battle in the same way that Rafael Benitez had to in the latter part of his time at the club.
"Maybe what we have realised is that there is plenty of work to do here, but I am certainly very satisfied with the job I have done here.
"The fact that it hasn't gone as well as I'd have hoped results-wise is just the nature of football. I haven't worked any differently here than I did in the last six months at Fulham.
"Yes, it's been topsy-turvy in the sense that having defied people they have started to crucify me, but that's part of the business and the way things are.
"Pedestals are built to put people on then knock them off and I have a fairly mature attitude to that. I can't do more and the players can't do more so we hope that work will turn our fortunes around and we get some batter results."
Hopeful
Regardless of his halting start to life on Merseyside, Hodgson remains hopeful of guiding the Reds back to UEFA Champions League football.
He added: "We still haven't given up the hope of finishing in the top four and reaching a Champions League spot and will not until it's mathematically impossible.
"I didn't inherit a top four team but I inherited some good players and I believe in them and the club. A bad start is always difficult to overcome."
