The Liverpool left-back has spoken of his anger at the way his manager questioned his performances in the press, though he admits that the critique did have the desired effect

Liverpool left-back Jose Enrique is adamant that Brendan Rodgers was wrong to criticise him earlier in the season as, though he admits it may have worked, he still feels the manager did not “do it the right way”.

Rodgers questioned the attitude of the former Newcastle man, as well as Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing, earlier in the season after some poor performances.

However, along with Henderson and Downing, Enrique has forced his way into the starting XI and, after recently returning from a hamstring injury, looks set to start against West Brom on Sunday.

The Spaniard admits that, although the harsh words spurred him on, he felt angered by his manager’s comments and still believes he should not have conducted himself in the way he did.

“When the manager said what he did, of course I was angry. It had never happened to me before and it was not good that he said his comments in the press,” he told the Sunday Mirror.

“It was not nice to read what he said, but I tried to take it in a good way and do my best. I still don’t think the manager did it the right way. He should have spoken to me first.”

The 27-year-old admits Rodgers’ comments gave him something to prove and also acknowledged that he has to improve to remain a fixture in the Liverpool side.

“I thought to myself, ‘Okay, now I have something to prove and I must train even harder’. I didn’t want to be ­finished at Liverpool. I wanted to stay here and play under the manager,” he continued.

“It is true that it worked. He also said some things about Stewart Downing and ­Jordan Henderson, but all three of us are in the team now. I know I have to ­improve to keep my place.”

The Reds’ winger has hailed the impact of the Liverpool legend, and called for his side to come together to try and ensure the veteran defender leaves the game on a high

Stewart Downing has hailed Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher, revealing he was surprised to hear the defender was retiring from football.

Carragher has been a key figure in the Liverpool dressing room, even if he hasn’t contributed to the on-field aspect as much as he would have liked in recent seasons.

Downing told The Mirror about Carragher’s influence in the changing room: “I was as shocked as anyone when Carra announced he’s retiring. He has been outstanding in the last couple of weeks and I thought maybe he’s got the itch back to give it one more year.

“But I can understand it in a way, because he’s not one of those to be sitting around – you can see he’s frustrated when he’s not playing.

“It would be great to get a top-four spot and to win something – for him to go out on a high.

“You could see what the League Cup meant to him last year, so it would be nice to win something for him, and we still have the Europa League to do that.

“I think top four is realistic if we play as we have in the last two matches -Daniel Sturridge has been a big signing, he’s given us an added dimension with his movement and goals.

“If we play as we have been, we have a chance. We’ve dropped points in games we should have won, but we have a lot of winnable games. It’s just about consistency.”

Even though Carragher has signalled time on his playing career, Downing fully expects the Liverpool player to remain in football, believing he has all the attributes to become a great manager.

“Carra’s going for the whole game and you can see he’s got the potential to be a manager, the way he thinks about the game and knows so much about every player.

“After [the loss to] Oldham, I won’t repeat what he said in the dressing room – you wouldn’t want to know –  but he was the first to say something.

“With people like Carra and Stevie Gerrard, when something needs to be said, it’s said. They’ve been here such a long time and understand what is needed.

“Ask any full-back who’s played with him – you can probably hear him from the sidelines yourselves. I’ve been left-back and you’re thinking, ‘He just doesn’t stop!’

“Some players can switch off in games but he’s always on the case, and there aren’t many of those around any more.

“It’s a real shame he’s stopping, and he will be a huge loss to us.”

The Chelsea interim manager says he remembers nothing untoward during the Champions League group stage match against the Hungarian outfit at Anfield four years ago

Interim Chelsea manager Rafa Benitez says he is surprised that a Liverpool game is being investigated over alleged match-fixing.

The Spaniard was in charge of Liverpool during their Champions League group stage win over Debrecen at Anfield four years ago and insists he saw nothing suspicious during the game.

Debrecen’s goalkeeper Vukasin Poleksic had been investigated by Uefa prior to the game and was later banned for two years for failing to report an approach from match-fixers.

“I’m surprised, though it was nothing to do with Liverpool,” Benitez told reporters.

“We went out to win the game, and we did. I didn’t remember [anything suspicious]. It was a game we had to win, and we approached it to do just that.

“The fact it was 1-0 means it was quite difficult. I think that it’s fantastic that the investigation is taking place, analysing those 300-odd games.

“If they find something then OK. If not, even better. But it’s important to clarify things. I’m very happy with that.”

Europol, the European Union’s law-enforcement agency, announced that 425 match officials, club officials and players are suspected to be involved in the fixing of up to 380 professional matches in Europe as well as 300 played in Africa, Asia and Central and South America.