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Lazar Markovic hits out at former Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers
LAZAR MARKOVIC has taken a swipe at Brendan Rodgers claiming their fractured relationship was the reason he struggled at Liverpool.
Lazar Markovic and Brendan Rodgers in discussion during a Liverpool training session
The Serbian international said Rodgers played him in a variety positions but seldom in his most natural role as a winger following his £20m move from Benfica in the summer of 2014.
Markovic is currently on loan at Fenerbahce in Turkey because Liverpool wanted him to play regular football this season and new manager Jurgen Klopp cannot recall him in January.
“I didn’t have a good relationship with the coach,” Markovic told Portuguese newspaper A Bola. “That was a problem.
“I played in many positions but didn’t play in mine.”
Markovic is currently on loan with Fenerbahce
Markovic, 21, took time to adapt following his move to Merseyside and later found himself deployed as a wing back as Rodgers switched formations to 3-4-3.
That Markovic was farmed out to Fenerbahce in the summer, rather than being off-loaded permanently, was a clear indication Anfield’s powers-that-be believed in the player even if Rodgers had reservations.
The decision to hand Mamadou Sakho a five year contract when he was out of the team was another sign Fenway Sports Group were prepared to back the judgement of their transfer group above that of Rodgers.
Rodgers was dismissed two weeks ago as Liverpool manager and Klopp will take charge of a game at Anfield tomorrow for the first time when Rubin Kazan visit Merseyside in the Europa League.