Unsettled Spain duo stun Liverpool by ‘demanding’ Hodgson exit

Liverpool have been warned Fernando Torres and Pepe Reina could leave the club if they fail to sack Roy Hodgson – but even then it may not be enough, according to the Guardian.

Hodgson is hanging on to his job by a thread and, despite public backing from the likes of Kevin Keegan, key players at Anfield have privately revealed their concern at the club’s plight.

Torres and Reina have reportedly been unsettled at Anfield since the start of the season but then new manager Hodgson persuaded them to stay at Liverpool for the immediate future.

And both demanded money be spent on big name players in both transfer windows this season, something Hodgson has not been able to bring to Liverpool.

Now, after Liverpool’s 3-1 loss to Blackburn on Wednesday, the clamouring for Hodgson’s head has intensified and, apparently, filtered down to the players.

The World Cup winning duo want a high-profile manager to be appointed as well as money to be spent in January in order for them to stay beyond the end of the season.

The players’ choice for the next Liverpool manager is Didier Deschamps but the Marseille boss has ruled himself out of the running.

The former France international, who turned down the job before Hodgson landed it, said: “When I talk about being the coach of Marseille in the new stadium, I mean it. It is an idea that pleases me.

“Now, 2014 is a very long way away in my profession. But I have said people should understand I am not a tramp. I proved it last year. I could have left.”

Player-wise, Torres and Reina were both promised the club would attract ‘world-class’ players to Anfield throughout the rest of the season but that has failed to materialise as of yet.

In fact Liverpool’s new American owners have openly urged Hodgson to focus on bringing young or cheap players to the club and to sell in order to buy.