Hodgson: I have owners´ support

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has claimed he has the backing of the owners at Anfield after their 2-1 win over Bolton.

After succumbing to a 1-0 loss to bottom-of-the-table Wolves in mid-week, there was growing speculation Hodgson’s departure was imminent.

But the former Fulham boss said given his discussion with joint owners John Henry and Tom Werner, he felt he has their confidence.

“I guess so (that he has their backing). It is not about me. I am very pleased and honoured to have this job,” Hodgson told Sky Sports.

“It is about Liverpool Football Cluband performances so I don’t take the speculation seriously of course.”

“I shall probably have to learn to accept I shall get a lot of brickbats.”

Hodgson pointed the finger at the fourth estate when speaking about the speculation regarding his job with the Reds.

“I take enough negativity from you guys (the media), today I am going to be quite blunt and I am not interested in anything negative,” he said.

“Had we won on Wednesday night you would now be asking me about the Champions Leaguebut because we didn’t win on Wednesday I am asked about the negativity which, to be honest, is being created here in this room.”

“That is something I have to live with but it doesn’t affect me in my job because my job is to make certain the performance of the team today was the performance you saw.”

Bolton boss Owen Coyle said he thought Joe Cole’s winner should not have been awarded.

“It’s obviously a cruel ending to lose such a late goal depending on your team, but that’s the nature of the Barclays Premier League. If you don’t switch on and you allow crosses into the box, there’s always a chance somebody will score,” he said.

“Having said that, we were certainly convinced that Joe Cole was standing in an offside position on the goal line as he tapped in. So decisions don’t seem to be going for us, so we’re disappointed by going for that, but Liverpool wins, and we’ll look to bounce back quickly,” Coyle said.

Coyle said Bolton deserved to salvage something out of the game.

“(I felt) disappointment, frustration, because we certainly did enough not to have lost the game. Scored the goal prior to half time to get in front, and it set a great platform to try and get a positive result,” he said.

“Lost an early goal, suggest through a bit of quality from Liverpool, you have to give credit where credit’s due. And the pass from Stevie Gerrard, and the finish from Fernando Torres was exquisite. But that’s why they’re world class players and football club.”