Glum-looking Liverpool players check in for training ahead of Carlisle clash as pressure continues to mount on Brendan Rodgers

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Odds have been cut on Brendan Rodgers' long-term future at Liverpool
Bookies suggest Rodgers could be out of a job before Christmas
Rodgers faces crucial few weeks as next three games are at home
Liverpool face Carlisle in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday

Published: 08:37 EST, 21 September 2015 | Updated: 12:14 EST, 21 September 2015

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Every Monday morning, an email lands in the inbox of sport journalists who have found themselves on the mailing list of one of Britain’s best known bookmakers.

Almost gleeful in tone, Monday's revealed the odds of Brendan Rodgers being the next Premier League manager out of a job have been ‘cut once more’ after his side’s lacklustre draw against Norwich.

Rodgers’ Liverpool career is on an irreversible downward spiral, they reckon, with the odds suggesting there is every chance he could be gone by Christmas and anybody with even fleeting knowledge of the betting industry recognises those guarding the pots of money are rarely far from the mark.

Brendan Rodgers is facing a crucial fortnight as his Liverpool side face three consecutive home games

The Liverpool manager looks extremely animated during his side's 1-1 draw with Norwich City

Liverpool striker Danny Ings, who scored against Norwich, doesn't look too pleased as he turns up for training

Philippe Coutinho also looks glum as he makes his way to training ahead of his side's match against Carlisle

As managers residing near the foot of the table persistently remind, there have been only six games played and 32 still to go but Rodgers' position is already precarious. Liverpool have eight points to show for the season so far and their displays, including a characterless surrender at Old Trafford last week, have given little sense that an upturn in fortunes is imminent.

After an uninspiring home draw to newly promoted Norwich on Sunday, the likeable Northern Irishman was astute enough to remark upon the history of the club and the reputation of Anfield as an intimidating place for visitors, where the fearsome atmosphere can almost mimic the effect of a 12th man. But his inability to capitalise on home advantage could prove his undoing.

'Anfield is a real special place to play,’ he said. ‘You have to have courage and bravery to play here. There is a great history but embrace it. You have to play positive football. There was a feeling of anxiety when I came in. We made it a fortress. Now we are having to build it again.'

Whether he is the man to oversee the reconstruction could hinge on Liverpool’s performances over the upcoming fortnight with their next three fixtures all at home.

First is a Capital One Cup tie against League Two Carlisle on Wednesday. For Reds fans, it might recall the 2010 League Cup home defeat by Northampton on penalties, which spelled the beginning of the end for Roy Hodgson at Liverpool.

The underdogs, coached by former Wimbledon, Manchester City and England defender Keith Curle, will certainly fancy themselves to cause an upset particularly coming off the back of beating Championship side QPR in the previous round.

Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson (right) failed to crack a smile as he was driven in to training

Rodgers (pictured with Martin Skrtel on Friday) will be hoping his side can win their first game since August

Liverpool then host Aston Villa, one of the seven teams currently below them in the league, in the Premier League and Sion at home in the Europa league. After that, a tough run of away games in October loom at Everton, Tottenham and Chelsea, a set of fixtures that could be make or break for Rodgers on Merseyside.

One of his summer recruits, Danny Ings, scored the opening goal against Norwich but Rodgers is frequently criticised for not finding a replacement for Simon Mignolet whose error-prone game according to many makes him unsuitable for a club of Liverpool’s size and ambition. Nevertheless, there are those cautioning for Rodgers to be given more time and to allow his £80million summer expenditure to take its effect.

‘There was talk of him going at the end of last season, they decided to give him the benefit of the doubt,’ Sportsmail columnist Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports. ‘If you give him that much money, and then say after eight league games you want to make the change, you just think you should have just done it in the summer.

Ings celebrates after scoring his first competitive goal for Liverpool following his move from Burnley

Sportsmail's Jamie Carragher believes Rodgers deserves more time to get the best out of his signings

‘You've backed him with the money, he has got to get longer than eight to 10 games, probably closer to Christmas. In their last 18 games, they haven't scored more than one goal and that's a problem for a manager who is an attacking manager like Brendan Rodgers. Where is the Brendan Rodgers-type of game we associated with a year or two ago?’

Towards the end of last season with a top-four finish beyond them, Rodgers had a meeting with Mike Gordon, the president of Fenway Sports Group, the club’s American owners. He is the man in charge of the day-to-day running of Liverpool and apparently assured Rodgers he had their full backing. But that was before a 6-1 thrashing at Stoke on the final day of the season and before their largely miserable start to this campaign.

The popular former Borussia Dortmund manager, Jurgen Klopp, is thought to be the preferred choice as Rodgers’ replacement which would please those Liverpool fans on Twitter who are urging the German to head to Merseyside.

Klopp, 48, who left Dortmund this summer and has been without a club since, might not be at the forefront of Rodgers’ mind over the next few weeks but he is certainly breathing down his neck.