Leicester boss Brendan Rodgers has cited Everton’s plight in the Premier League as evidence that money alone cannot bring success.
The Foxes head to Goodison Park on Wednesday night to take on a club desperately struggling to survive in the top flight despite spending more than £560m on new players over the last six years.
Asked what went wrong in the blue half of Merseyside, former Liverpool boss Rodgers said: “It’s well documented that a lot of money has been spent, a lot of money, but if it doesn’t all come together then it doesn’t.” Really do not care.
“They have good players who come out and work hard and make it difficult and they have quality players, so it’s probably frustrating for the fans, I’m sure, because it’s a huge club and the investment has been huge and they probably wanted something better.
“Obviously there was a spell on Merseyside at the time I was there when Roberto Martinez was doing really well with them, so it’s tough.
“I think Frank Lampard will do very well as a manager. He has gone there with a very good team of managers, but of course that overview of the club is very, very important.”
The Toffees sit just three points from the relegation zone, albeit with games to go on the teams below them, despite an invaluable 1-0 win over Manchester United last time out.
Conversely, Leicester sit ninth, 12 points behind seventh-placed West Ham but having played three fewer games, and are through to the Europa Conference League semi-finals.
However, on Sunday he suffered a setback when, after dominating for long periods despite making eight changes to the side that three days earlier had beaten PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands, they lost 2-1 at Newcastle thanks to Bruno Guimaraes’ goal in the minute 95. .
A philosophical Rodgers said, “Of course, when you lose, there is that disappointment. But for me it is clear, the analysis of the game. For long periods, we were in control, we were very good.
“You just have to manage the game to finish, and that has cost us a few times this season. It’s about reinforcing a lot of our good times and reflecting and learning and hopefully continuing to win the next game.
“It’s a credit to the players that this is the first game we’ve lost after a European game, so it shows the mentality and resilience of the team. We will take that to the Everton game on Wednesday.”
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