Brendan Rodgers has insisted he will never shy away from big decisions, even if he knows getting too many wrong will get him sacked.
The Liverpool manager made a risky call with his team in the Bernebau and found himself on the end of a massive critical backlash, despite a performance that vindicated his selection.
Rodgers believes he got it right against Real Madrid, despite the defeat, and he said on Thursday that he is fine with his decision and would do it again, despite admitting the backlash took him by surprise.
“You have to be bold enough to make the decisions as a manager and that is why you are paid the money you are paid,” the Irishman stated.
“If you make more wrong ones than right ones you will be out of work, it’s as simple as that. It’s a big risk but for me I’m happy with the decisions I make.
“It can be a big call and people might think ‘you took a massive risk there’ but you weigh up the risk and reward. The reward for me was you get the opportunity to trust the team and trust the squad.
“The team I picked the other night may have drawn criticism from a lot of people but that is not a concern for me. I will do what I have always done. I will pick the best team to win the game.”
The manager explained that he simply had a gameplan to hold the game tight against Madrid and then introduce Gerrard, Sterling and Coutinho to try and snatch a late win.
It almost worked and Rodgers revealed he has received full backing from club chairman Tom Werner.
“The owners have been brilliant. Tom spoke to me and straight away they see the courage in playing a different team and younger players and how I have dealt with my situation here,” he added.
“They have always been supportive, they have been great, Tom is over and we will have a bit to eat later and talk through how everything is going. They have been great for me.
“The only people who matter to me are the people here at the club, the players and supporters. You become a manager and know the criticism will come whether it is deserved or not you take it.
“My only disappointment is the criticism did a disservice to the players. We went into a game against the best team in the world at the moment with a plan and the idea was to make sure we stayed in the game and then in the last 20-25 minutes open up the game.
“Unfortunately we could get a goal, but I was proud of the players as were the supporters. You take criticism as a manager, but for the players I didn’t think it was fair.
“To call Kolo Toure a reserve or Lucas Leiva or Adam Lallana a reserve player … I felt they deserved more praise.”