Brendan Rodgers calm amid frenzy surrounding latest Merseyside derby

Liverpool’s Brendan Rodgers said: ‘I am not worried at all. We will go into the game with every notion to perform and win well.’

Brendan Rodgers does not fear the consequences of defeat at Everton nor has he sought assurances on his position from Liverpool’s owners in Boston. His reasoning is defeat cannot be contemplated, although it was an ominous sign that Rodgers was asked to review his entire Liverpool reign during Friday’s pre-match press conference. Fear does stalk the 225th Merseyside derby, on both sides, and Everton’s ability to overcome it may have a major bearing on the "frenzy" Rodgers believes surrounds his job.

Victory for Everton on Sunday would turn "a promising start into an exciting one", according to Roberto Martínez. For Liverpool it would give substance to Rodgers’ claims of progress, however slow and painful it appears, and stifle the hysteria – the manager’s other description of his treatment – with an international break looming.

"I am not worried at all," said the Liverpool manager, who has not lost a derby at Goodison Park. "We will go into the game with every notion to perform and win well. If we get a wee bit of luck, if we earn a bit of good fortune, we can win the game. I am not worried and that is not being arrogant or having been given any assurances. I will do my best with what I am working with, we are rebuilding a group again with new players and going again, and our notion is to win."

No assurances from Fenway Sports Group, who must have heard their manager’s claims of a conspiracy by "people outside of here" to remove Rodgers following last weekend’s win over Aston Villa? "No, but I don’t want you to take that as they haven’t reassured me," he replied. "We have exchanged text messages and I have spoken to Ian [Ayre, chief executive]. There is no change there. No drama, sorry lads."

Goodison could be Rodgers’ sanctuary on the basis of Liverpool’s results across Stanley Park, if not recent form, and Everton’s habit of freezing whenever expectation in a derby falls on them. Jamie Carragher knew exactly what he was doing when he labelled Martínez’s side favourites earlier this week. The Everton manager’s response appeared similarly orchestrated on Friday, claiming form may be with his team but the "huge investment" made by FSG ensured Liverpool are the ones "carrying expectation".

Everton have won only three of their last 31 Premier League encounters with Liverpool, none of the last nine and one of the last 17. Even Martínez, not a man known for accentuating a negative, accepts his club have a psychological issue with the fixture. "It is not a normal stat, that is the truth," he said. "But I don’t want to take that sort of baggage into our performance on Sunday. Maybe we need to get rid of that focus on the history of the derby and what it means. We need to make sure that during 90 minutes we replicate the levels during the Chelsea game. Believe me, that is how I see it. That is as narrow as I want it. I want it to be that clear and narrow for our players.

"Of course it is the derby, of course we are playing the neighbours, but that shouldn’t affect our preparation at all internally. Goodison was as good as I’ve seen it for Chelsea. I don’t think we need to look into the past of the derby. We don’t need to look into stats, I think it is purely about replicating the level of the last home game. You can analyse it and assess it but it is not normal to have one victory in 17. I’m sure there are many reasons."

One factor in Liverpool’s derby supremacy is not so much their greater resources and individual talent, though of course that helps, as the influence over the fixture of Steven Gerrard. With the Huyton-born leader following Bootle’s Carragher out of the equation, Liverpool will start without a local presence in the derby for the first time in the Premier League era. Not since the 1986 FA Cup final, when Steve McMahon was an unused substitute, have Liverpool faced Everton without a scouser in their starting lineup. The last time it happened in the league was October 1984 when Graeme Sharp scored the winner at Anfield.

"It has been a long time and it will be strange for the supporters but it is strange for me as well," Rodgers said. "I have seen it from the outside looking in and being here I am very keen to ensure we nurture young talented boys from Merseyside into the team. We have seen it with young Jordan Rossiter, although he is not ready to play in a game of this magnitude yet, and obviously Jon Flanagan would be playing if he was fit and that is a disappointment. It doesn’t worry me in terms of the game but what I have always loved about these games is that when you have that local player in there, they want it so much more and can give you that extra one per cent. That will be the only disappointment but these players will be ready for the game."

Liverpool’s mentality was questioned before Gerrard departed for LA Galaxy. Conversely, it has been a strength of Everton of late. The experienced Phil Jagielka, Tim Howard and Gareth Barry have impressed and helped the likes of Brendan Galloway emerge in a defence disrupted by injury. Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley, equipped to impose their own influence on the derby, have been to the fore in an Everton team that has come from behind to win three times this term.

"You can’t read too much into a lack of leadership or understanding of this fixture, I don’t buy that," said Martínez. "You don’t need the leaders or direction for these games. The moment you step out at Goodison for a derby, everyone is going to be at it."