Fairclough on Roy departure

Nobody likes to see the departure of any manager, and it's not something we've seen at Liverpool on a regular basis, writes David Fairclough.

We're patient, but unfortunately Roy Hodgson came to Liverpool at a difficult time. It wouldn't have been easy for anyone, but it's proven to be a bit more difficult than maybe Roy assumed from afar.
The defeats to Wolves and Blackburn were massive moments. We've said once or twice throughout the season that things couldn't get any worse - but unfortunately they did. Those games were new depths.
New owners want to see the club going in one direction - up. But we've gone the other way and been scrambling around in the bottom half of the table for most of the season. This isn't good enough for Liverpool Football Club and we had to address it.
No timing is perfect at this stage of the season because the games are coming thick and fast but something had to be done. With games against Manchester United and Everton to come, there was a fear factor emerging.
The club was definitely in need of an upward lift and the owners have clearly asked: can we wait any longer? With the transfer window open we could also have been hampered in terms of brining new blood in. So they had to be brave and make a decision - and now Liverpool can move on.

Video: Fairclough on Roy's departure>>

You can have some sympathy with Roy because he did have the right intentions. When he arrived, he did say some of the things we wanted to hear. There was a different approach from that of Rafael Benitez and it gave us a boost. But then we had one or two problems at the end of August and start of September and we never really recovered.
The fans invest so much emotion in this club and they deserve a boost now. The players I'm sure will pick up on that and hopefully this can inspire better performances. The players have underperformed, the passing hasn't been great and there's been a lack of confidence - hopefully now they will get some inspiration and confidence back.
Kenny is an interesting one. He knows what it takes to be a Liverpool manager, he knows what it takes to be a Liverpool player, and I'm sure his leadership will work for Liverpool in the short term.

from Liverpoolfc.tv