Liverpool midfielder Adam Lallana is delighted the club have kept faith with Brendan Rodgers and was surprised there was even any talk about the manager being forced out.
Rodgers now has something to prove to the club's owners after a disappointing sixth-place Premier League finish, but Lallana is pleased the Fenway Sports Group have given the Northern Irishman another opportunity to impress.
"Of course I am delighted he's still here," said Lallana. "In my eyes, there wasn't really any doubt in him being here for next season.
"It's been an up and down season. We reached two semi-finals and we were disappointed that we couldn't get to the final.
"At one point we were closing in on the top four but missed out there.
"It's been an up and down season but we've got a lot of new players and, off the back of such a promising year last year, when they nearly won the league, the expectation was always going to be really high.
"He's a great coach. He's very good tactically and I am always going to learn - players are always going to get better when he is coaching."
Rodgers kept his job but the fall-out from Liverpool's end-of-season review saw assistant manager Colin Pascoe and first-team coach Mike Marsh exit.
Lallana was disappointed to see them leave, describing them as "great coaches", but those changes pale into insignificance compared to starting a campaign without Steven Gerrard.
"He's irreplaceable because of the type of player he has been," Lallana said of the long-serving captain's move to the Los Angeles Galaxy.
"You won't want anyone to have the weight on their shoulders that they are coming in directly to replace Steven - it's just impossible.
"So we are going to have to find a different way of winning games and playing games."
Lallana, himself, knows he has something to prove after an injury-disrupted first season at Anfield following his move from Southampton last summer.
"It has been frustrating as far as injuries are concerned, especially as the season before I was available every game for Southampton," the 27-year-old said. "It did not start off well in pre-season with injuries - it was stop-start.
"Every time I felt I was picking up rhythm or Liverpool were picking up rhythm I got another knock and was out for two weeks or so.
"I have a lot more to give next season and can't wait to get going again."
