Brendan Rodgers apologises for Liverpool's hammering against Stoke City

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has offered an apology to the club's supporters after they suffered their worst defeat in 52 years against Stoke City on Sunday.

In a game that marked Steven Gerrard's 710th and final appearance for the Reds, Rodgers's side were humiliated by a 6-1 loss at the Britannia Stadium.

Rodgers said sorry to the supporters who made the trip to Stoke, but also gave his apologies to his son, Anton, who was part of the Swindon Town squad that were beaten 4-0 in the League One playoff final by Preston North End on Sunday.

Rodgers told reporters: "I've got two apologies to make. Firstly to the supporters because it was nowhere near good enough or competitive enough from any of us representing Liverpool today. It was a very, very poor performance in that first half.

"The second apology goes to my son because I was supposed to go down to Wembley to see him in the playoff final, but I can't leave here and shoot away after that.

"There's a lot of reflecting to do after that performance. It was just a really disappointing first half."

The heavy defeat meant that Rodgers's charges ended their campaign in sixth in the Premier League.