Roy Evans: Brendan Rodgers will be sacked as Liverpool manager if poor form continues

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers will be the first Premier League managerial casualty of the season should the club's poor form continue, according to Roy Evans. The Northern Irishman has been installed as the favourite with some bookmakers to be the first top flight manager relieved of their duties this term, after the Reds barely scraped past League Two side Carlisle United in the Capital One Cup.

Rodgers' side required penalties to eventually prevail in the third round tie after Danny Ings' second goal in as many games was cancelled out by Derek Asamoah's strike. A close to full-strength side struggled against their lower league opponents to reach the fourth round as the pressure on Rodgers intensified.

The 1-1 draw with Carlisle after 90 minutes was the sixth game in a row Liverpool have failed to win, stretching back to mid-August's victory over newly promoted AFC Bournemouth. Sky Bet are among those to have installed Rodgers as the leading contender to be the first Premier League boss removed from their position following the result but former boss Roy Evans wants him to be given a second chance.

The Mereysiders spent £79m ($120m), according to transfermarkt.co.uk, during the summer transfer window and after just eight games of the season those new additions have had little time to adapt to their new surroundings. Evans is keen to see Rodgers remain as a result but admits time is running out.

"At a club like Liverpool the expectation is massive," he told Talksport. "Things can turn around in two or three games. If you've let a manager spend an awful lot of money you have to give him a bit of time to see if it can work.

"When a manager is under pressure all sorts of names pop up. There is [Jurgen] Klopp and [Carlo] Ancelotti and people like that. I can't see them sacking Brendan Rodgers at this moment in time. You have to give him a bit more time after spending so much money. He is still on the contract for the next four years but in football if it doesn't go right for you they will sack him.

"It is still very early in the season. Once everyone gets it [in their heads] that the manager is to blame then sometimes it runs away with everybody and that seems to have become the norm. He is under pressure I would say that."