SHOPPING for new players, solving Daniel Sturridge s injury problems and getting Liverpool back in the Champions League, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is expecting a busy close season.
His team finished Premier League runners-up last season but despite investing heavily after Luis Suarez s departure to Barcelona, they have struggled to build on their success and are lying fifth on the table with four games left.
Come the end of the season you look to improve the squad,” Rodgers said. What I ve said is we have been short of goals this season, but that s not the strikers, it s the whole team.
Wide players, midfielders, defenders. These are areas we want to improve on. I knew 100% the model here. We have a real good team of people here. We have to look at it and see how we can improve our squad again.”
Next on Rodgers to-do list is trying to find a long-term solution to Sturridge s fitness problems.
The 25-year-old has been sidelined by hip and thigh injuries and has only played 18 games in this campaign, scoring five goals, compared to 33 appearances last season and 24 goals.
We have found some underlying issues that have related to the problems he s had,” Rodgers said. We are just doing everything we possibly can to get him fit.
Daniel wants to play. This has been a season he wanted to build on. He has had issues throughout his career but we wanted to give him the chance when he came here to be one of the best in Europe.”
Liverpool trail fourth-placed Manchester United by seven points and Rodgers admits Champions League qualification could be out of reach.