Rodgers: Liverpool's firepower not a problem

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has addressed concerns over his side's attacking exploits this season, insisting they have more than enough firepower to challenge for the lucrative Champions League spots.

Rodgers: Liverpool's firepower not a problem
Rodgers leads training at a snowy Melwood training ground in Liverpool on Thursday.
charlie-malam
By Charlie Malam

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has addressed concerns over his side's attacking exploits this season, insisting they have more than enough firepower to challenge for the lucrative Champions League spots.

The Reds, who scored an astonishing 101 goals last season - largely due to the duo of Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez, have struggled in front of goal in the current campaign. 

In the absence of Sturridge, who has spent the last five months out injured, Liverpool have scored just 31 times in 22 league games - in comparison to their tally of 53 this time last season.

Fabio Borini, Rickie Lambert and Mario Balotelli, Liverpool's strikers lower than Sturridge in the pecking order, have scored just three goals between them this season and the £16 million Italian has none to his name. 

But Rodgers insists Liverpool, who have been linked with a move for Burnley striker Danny Ings in the past couple of days, have ample talent up-front.

"I very much doubt we will do any business to help us for the rest of this season. I think it’s easy to always keep looking to dip into the market," Rodgers told the Liverpool ECHO.

"You’re not just walking into a shop and picking any player you want. It’s not possible to do that. Players who can come in and improve you aren’t always available. It will probably be very similar to last January when we didn’t bring anyone in."

Rodgers clearly has faith in his current crop, adding: "We really pushed on in the second half of last season and I believe we will again. The team is starting to function as I would like.

"Of course we need to get more goals into the team. It’s my job to find solutions to get more goals.

"Having Daniel back fit will certainly help and I’ll continue to work with what we’ve got. I’ll to try to maximise what we have in the squad."

Pressure will be on the 25-year-old striker to produce the form that has seen him become one of the best players in the Liverpool side, but his Northern Irish boss is confident it is pressure that he can handle: "For Daniel, he looks at the squad and understands his responsibility," said Rodgers.

"Before he was injured I could sense with him in the changing room that he was taking on that greater responsibility.

"He’s maturing all the time and he’s a clever boy. He will embrace it and he will enjoy it.

"We can’t expect too much too soon but it’s just great to have him back on the road to full fitness. He has looked outstanding."

After a struggling start to the season, the Reds have slowly began to build some form - losing just twice in 17 games in all competitions since a 3-1 loss at Crystal Palace, but things will not get any easier for Liverpool.

They enter a pivotal month after hosting West Ham United in their final game of January, a month that features an FA Cup replay away at Bolton Wanderers, huge Premier League encounters with Everton, Spurs and Southampton and a two-legged Europa League last 32 tie against Besiktas.

But Rodgers insists that he and his side have some good things to look forward to after an impressive performance from an inexperienced side against Chelsea in the Capital One Cup on Tuesday night.

"For me, there’s a real excitement building now," he said. "We’re in a good run of form in terms of our performances and our results.

"The games come thick and fast but that’s what we want because if you playing a lot of games at this stage of the season it means you are competing for trophies," said Rodgers.

"For some of our young players this is the first period where they’ve been playing regular football. 

"Look at the likes of young Phil Coutinho – these aren’t players with great big experience. These are players coming out of clubs where they weren’t playing regular football.

"Now they are coming in, developing and performing at a really high level. They showed we can match the league leaders.

"Hopefully over the next couple of years we’ll be fighting for all these trophies against teams like Chelsea."

VAVEL Logo
About the author
Charlie Malam
Digital Sports Writer at the Daily Express. First-class Staffordshire University Sports Journalism graduate. Formerly VAVEL UK's Liverpool FC editor and Deputy Editor-in-Chief. Contributor since June 2014.