Beleaguered Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers claims his strong

relationship with the club’s American owners means he doesn’t fear the

sack.

Rodgers has come under fire from Liverpool’s usually loyal fans after

a woeful run of form which has left his side languishing in 13th place

in the Premier League ahead of Aston Villa’s visit to Anfield on

Saturday.

The Reds have gone four league games without a win, a dispiriting

sequence that included heavy defeats against Manchester United and West

Ham, and on Wednesday they suffered the indignity of being taken to a

penalty shoot-out by fourth tier minnows Carlisle.

Although they eventually won that League Cup tie, the lacklustre

display did little to ease the growing scrutiny on Rodgers, with

Liverpool forced to deny reports they had approached former Real Madrid

boss Carlo Ancelotti, while ex-Borussia Dortmund chief Jurgen Klopp has

also been linked with the job.

But Rodgers hopes his bond with Boston-based owners Fenway Sports

Group, who hailed him as the ideal man to lead their Liverpool project

when they hired him in 2012, will buy him time to improve results.

“I hope to be here for a long time. I have regular contact with the

owners and the relationship has always been strong,” Rodgers said.

“I walked in here three years ago as a 39-year-old manager at one of

the greatest football clubs in the world and I’m a better manager now

for that.

“Whatever happens here, I’ll always have a huge respect for the owners here and the people that work here.”

Rodgers’ plight is mirrored on Tyneside, where Steve McClaren is

already losing the support of the locals just eight games into his

reign.

The former England manager, hired from Derby in the close-season, has

watched his side slump to second bottom of the table after failing to

win any of their first six matches.

Then to make matters worse, Newcastle suffered their fourth

successive defeat in all competitions as they crashed out of the League

Cup against an under-strength Sheffield Wednesday in midweek.

With Chelsea arriving at St James’ on Saturday, the chorus of

disapproval could yet grow in volume, but McClaren is adamant a victory

over Jose Mourinho’s men would dramatically improve the febrile

atmosphere threatening to engulf the club.

“Do we fear it? Do we say we don’t want to play in that? We have got

to. We have got to get people ready for Saturday, ready to fight, and

one result turns it around,” McClaren said.

“You have got to say and you have got to believe — which I do — that could be Saturday.”

McClaren’s cause will be helped by the absence of Chelsea striker

Diego Costa, who is serving a suspension following his retrospective

punishment for tangling with Laurent Koscielny in the win over Arsenal

last weekend.

And after taking just seven points from their opening six games, Chelsea can ill-afford to let Newcastle get back on track.

Elsewhere on Saturday, leaders Manchester City travel to Tottenham

looking to extend their impressive recent record of three wins from

their last four visits to White Hart Lane.

Consecutive defeats against Juventus and West Ham had pierced City’s

confidence, but they got back on track by crushing Sunderland in the

League Cup.

“It was important to win. Maybe we didn’t deserve to lose the two

games that we lost, but we did, so it was important not to continue in

that way,” City boss Manuel Pellegrini said.

Second placed Manchester United, two points behind their local

rivals, host Sunderland with boss Louis van Gaal trying to play down

expectations surrounding Anthony Martial after the young French striker

scored his fourth goal in as many matches.

Martial’s strike against Ipswich in United’s League Cup stroll maintained his blistering start since his move from Monaco.

But van Gaal said: “He is a player who is very modest and he knows he can score because of his fellow players.

“We are happy with him but still we have to keep our feet on the ground.”

Leicester face a stern test of the league’s last unbeaten record when they face Arsenal at the King Power Stadium.