Rodgers Warns Rivals: Liverpool Will Only Get Better

Liverpool on the way up

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers believes that his side will have achieved their target a year ahead of schedule if they claim a Champions League place this season, according to The Mirror.

However, despite the Reds developing into top four contenders quicker than he had planned, Rodgers is not daunted by the prospect of being serious challengers in a battle with the league’s top sides, claiming a favourable fixture list has put them in a strong position.

Liverpool entertain their rivals Manchester City, Chelsea, Arsenal and Tottenham at Anfield during the run-in and with just one defeat on their home turf this season, Rodgers believes it is a huge advantage.

“There is still an awful long way to go and we still have a lot of work to do, but we have a lot of the rivals to play at home. We only have Manchester United to play away. For us it is about us maintaining momentum and if we perform like we did recently against Everton, it helps your belief.

“I still feel there is a long way for this team to go, we are still building something here. I feel if we can get in the top four this year it would probably be a year early for us to what I was thinking. But you can’t always plan perfectly. We have had a terrific season until now and we can only get better at it,” the Northern Irishman declared.

In a testament to how far Liverpool have come, they have still not been ruled out of the title race and could yet win a first Premier League crown if they put an unblemished run together against their direct rivals in the second half of the season.

However, slip ups like the weekend’s draw against West Brom will have to be eradicated if Liverpool are to stay the course and secure an all important top four finish, but Rodgers is happy just to be in the mix, for now.

“I’ve talked about it since day one – just being in the conversation this year – because there were enough times last season when we looked at the table and we were never even in the top.

“You listen to radio on the way home from games and we were never even mentioned. So it is good that we are at least in the conversation, and let’s see where we are with 10 games to go,” insisted Rodgers.