Rodgers: It wasn't good enough
Brendan Rodgers pulled no punches in his assessment of Liverpool's shock 3-2 FA Cup defeat against Oldham Athletic, conceding his side's performance was not good enough.
The boss admitted he was disappointed with the manner of his side's performance as two goals from Matt Smith and a header from Reece Wabara eliminated the Reds from the competition at Boundary Park.
Luis Suarez and Joe Allen were on target for the visitors and substitute Steven Gerrard rattled the crossbar at the death, but it wasn't enough and afterwards Rodgers accepted his team had not matched the standards he expects.
He told journalists: "We're bitterly disappointed. We started the first half really poorly, and we started the second half poorly too and got punished.
"The result is very disappointing. We picked a team to come here and win the game - we know we've got a big week of games - but our mentality in that opening period was poor and ended up costing us.
"I was disappointed with the young players today. We're trying to give them experience and let them see what it's like to play for Liverpool. It's not just about playing for Liverpool, you've got to be able to be competitive and be a part of a group that is going to challenge for trophies.
"I thought how we reacted to that and how they performed, knowing that that's what we're looking for, was disappointing.
"It's not enough to play for Liverpool and get up for the Arsenal and Manchester City games. If you're going to win trophies and go far in competitions, you need to be able to come to places like this and win. We weren't good enough for that.
"Steven Gerrard came on with Stewart Downing and it [became] a different game. For 35 minutes we were terrific, but it was too late then as we were 3-1 down.
"At 3-2 we had some chances, but it wasn't good enough."
Rodgers acknowledged Liverpool did not stand up strongly enough to Oldham's frenetic start to the contest, but insisted it was not a case of complacency from his charges against the League One side.
The manager continued: "The big guy Smith up front did well, but it's not as if we haven't played against that type [of striker] before. We were on the back foot too much early on. You've really got to be aggressive as these are different games to the Premier League.
"The Premier League is nice - teams will stroke the ball, pass and give you time to get your shape. This is a different type of football - you've got to come and roll your sleeves up, be strong and aggressive. Unfortunately for us, there were too many that weren't.
"It wasn't complacency. I've got a good bunch here, they're good lads. It's just about strength in depth and we haven't got enough depth. I've always said we're trying to build a squad that can compete and that means putting teams out like today's and winning games. That's about mentality and unfortunately we didn't have that today."
Rodgers added: "They [young players] will never get comfortable. You can't get comfortable at Liverpool and they'll never be allowed to.
"They've come up against a different type of football and you've got to stand up and be counted. They did that against Mansfield, but today we were just slow out of the blocks, got punished and it wasn't until the final 40 minutes that we played at the tempo and intensity I'd expect.
"It's a bitterly disappointing result. It's a trophy we really put our focus onto and hoped to go far in - but it's a competition we're now out of so we're all disappointed."
After Suarez had cancelled out Smith's opener, the Oldham striker capitalised on some poor defending to send the hosts in 2-1 ahead at the break.
Wabara's looping header extended the Latics' advantage moments after the re-start, leading Rodgers to summon Gerrard - along with Stewart Downing - from the bench.
The arrival of the captain visibly lifted Liverpool, but Rodgers defended his decision to start with the No.8 on the bench.
He explained: "I can't rely on Steven for 70 games. He's been absolutely incredible. He shouldn't be expected to have to come and win games on his own every single game.
"He came on and gave real impetus to the team. His quality was there to be seen, he hit the crossbar and gave us that real drive.
"We've got three tough games this week - starting today - and we put out a team and a group of players we felt could get a result. It wasn't complacency - it was just really disappointing play and we got punished."
Journalists asked Rodgers if he felt his defenders were most culpable for the result.
He replied: "I think it was across the team. We never pressed well enough from the front. You've got to stop the ball at the source. The ball went into Smith, but you've got opportunities to stop it before it does.
"For the second goal, we never tracked the runner, the full-back goes forward and gets the cross in. We spoke about that at half-time but then five or six minutes into the second half, the same full-back goes forward, scores a header and we don't track him or be strong enough.
"It's great to put young players in, but you've got to have personality and today our young players disappointed me."
Despite his disappointment, Rodgers was keen to congratulate Oldham on their progress into round five, where they'll meet Everton at Boundary Park.
He said: "I thought they did well. If they fight like that, they shouldn't be down where they are in the league.
"Congratulations to Oldham - you cannot take it away from them, as bitterly disappointed as we are. It's a club that has been going through a tough time and a result like that could give them the lift to push on."