Rodgers wants Cup glory to erase League pain

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is looking to avoid an FA Cup upset at Blackburn tonight as his side try to ease the disappointment of their fading challenge for a place in the Champions League. A run of eight wins from nine Premier League games up to the middle of March had put Liverpool in a strong position to secure a top-four finish. But successive defeats against Manchester United and Arsenal either side of the international break have left Liverpool in fifth place, well adrift of the top four. Rodgers’s team were out-played in both games and their sudden downturn in fortunes has been compounded by suspensions to Emre Can, who was sent off in last Saturday’s crushing 4-1 loss at Arsenal, as well as captain Steven Gerrard and defender Martin Skrtel. The fall-out from Raheem Sterling’s decision to halt contract negotiations has also proved a distraction. Yet Rodgers is still hoping to finish the season on a high by bringing silverware back to Anfield for the first time since Liverpool won the League Cup in 2012. If the Reds can see off Championship club Blackburn in their quarter-final replay at Ewood Park, they will be through to a semi-final against Aston Villa at Wembley later this month. But Rodgers won’t underestimate Gary Bowyer’s team, who have already knocked out top-flight sides Swansea and Stoke this season. “There’s no doubt there is disappointment at losing those games having put ourselves in a great position. We’d worked very hard to get ourselves into the position we were in before the Manchester United game,” Rodgers said. Blackburn held Liverpool to a 0-0 draw in the first meeting at Anfield last month. Rovers famously won the Premier League title at Anfield 20 years ago and after recent troubled times, including relegation in 2012 and the imposition of a transfer embargo due to financial issues, manager Bowyer is delighted to be giving the club’s supporters another glimpse of glory. “I am really pleased for them more than anybody else to have that opportunity to bring Liverpool back to Ewood Park and get Ewood Park rocking and remind us of the Premier League days,” Bowyer said. BLACKBURN-NAMPA/AFP