Liverpool defender Glen Johnson is no closer to signing a new contract with the club, and fears he could be let go as early as January, reports the Daily Mail.
Johnson is one of the clubs highest earners, on a reports £110,000 a week.
And with Liverpool reluctant to make a similar offer for a 30-year-old, Johnson looks as though he could be signing a pre-contract agreement with another club in January.
The England international looks set to return to the first team squad for the clash with Queens Park Rangers this afternoon, a match that will see him come up against a former manager in Harry Redknapp.
And Johnson has words of praise for the man who helped him get his career back on track, having signed him for Portsmouth after a lack of first team opportunities at Chelsea as a youngster.
‘I don’t think there’s anyone like him,’ said Johnson. ‘I’ve worked with some very good managers but Harry’s like your mate. That’s why he gets a lot out of players.
‘He gets more out of certain people just by making you feel welcome and looking after people every day.
‘Of course it’s disappointing if he’s under pressure. It’s not nice to see anyone maybe losing their job, certainly not someone like Harry. He’s been a fantastic manager for years and if anyone is going to get QPR out of trouble it will be him, so I don’t know what sacking him would achieve.
‘He’s always been a fantastic manager for me and one of the nicest guys I’ve ever met. When I asked to leave Chelsea and went to Portsmouth, Harry was a big help to me. He gave me the chance to play every week and that’s what young players need to do.
‘When I had a dip in form, Harry put a nice little video together, which made a few of the lads laugh. It was good banter but it made me realise what I should be doing and I was able to crack on. Sometimes simple things like that can make a big difference.’
Johnson returned to first team action prior to the international break, coming on as a substitute as Liverpool beat West Brom 2-1 at Anfield, in what was considered a crucial win after a disappointing run of form and results.
‘We only had the Premier League to concentrate on last season while the other so-called top-four teams were playing games every four days. It was easier to keep everyone fit and we almost had our best eleven every week,” Johnson said.
‘With the game load this season, it is not going to be as simple. You will get more injuries and hard to have all the squad out on the training ground. We haven’t picked as many results as when we started last season but that is down to the amount of games and losing a few bodies.
‘We have to treat the next game against QPR as the priority. We have to make sure we win that and then we can concentrate on Madrid. We have to do just as well in the league as we have in the Champions League.’
