Brendan Rodgers is the right man for the job at Liverpool Football Club, according to playmaker Philippe Coutinho.

The mercurial Brazilian, who has shone this season and took four accolades at the club's Player Awards ceremony earlier this week, believes it is the Northern Irishman who has been the orchestrator behind his scintillating form.

Coutinho is well aware of the Reds' underachievements this season, falling short in all knockout competitions and failing to reach the top-four.

But the 22-year-old believes that Rodgers is the man to ensure the Liverpool side get back to the heights of last season.

"I have always believed in and trusted in this manager and that remains the case," said Coutinho, speaking to the Liverpool ECHO.

"I know how hard he works to lead Liverpool Football Club. I see what he does inside the club. He’s an excellent coach.

"I am very grateful to him. I wasn’t playing much at my previous club but Brendan brought me here and gave me the chance to show what I can do.

"He has helped me improve as a player and I’ve learned a lot from working with him.

"I am sure he’s the right person to carry us forward. I’ll be very happy to continue playing for Brendan and I want us to win trophies together from next season onwards. I’m sure next season will be better."

Departing skipper Steven Gerrard believes the club's owners must invest on experienced and proven talent over the summer, and Coutinho thinks that the experience the young Liverpool side have gained from a torrid campaign will help them equally as much next season. 

"We have a very young group here," added Coutinho, who has been called up for Brazil's Copa America squad over the summer.

"For a lot of the players this was their first season in the Premier League.

"Last season a lot of new players joined the club and I know myself that it’s not easy moving to a new country.

"It took time for everyone to get used to each other this season. But we worked hard and then around the halfway point of the season things started to look up.

"We performed well and went on a good run. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to keep that going.

"I’m sure the squad will be strengthened this summer and then the key will be to have a good pre-season. We can’t afford to start next season as slowly as we did this season. The Champions League is where we all want to be and we’ll try to achieve that next season."

Coutinho has been one of the only positives from a disappointing 12 months, scoring eight sensational goals and contributing a number of world-class performances to help seal a place in the PFA Team of the Year.

As a result, Coutinho was awarded Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year earlier this week - also earning accolades for his long-range strike against Southampton, which won Goal of the Year, whilst his match-winning performance against Manchester City was named as the club's Performance of the Year.

The humble midfielder, who signed a new long-term deal only a few months ago, has admitted the awards were special - but he would rather turn them into trophies.

"The awards were a huge surprise for me, I didn’t expect it at all," Coutinho said.

"It was a very special evening for me. But I don’t like to talk about myself a lot.

"It’s a team game and I would rather pick up trophies for the team than for myself.

"I didn’t have injuries so I was able to play many matches this season. I do consider it as the best I’ve had on a personal level.

"But I’m still only 22 and there is still a lot of room for improvement. Every season I want to improve and get better.

"I’m very happy here. I want to score and create more goals and do more for Liverpool."

Coutinho will walk out in a Liverpool shirt once more this season as the Reds close the curtains on their season with a trip to Stoke City, needing a win to ensure a fifth-placed finish.

Should they fail to come away with the victory, Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton are both perfectly poised to leapfrog Rodgers' side if they win away at Everton and Manchester City.

But Coutinho insists in what will be Steven Gerrard's final appearance for the club, they must be much improved from the display that saw them lose 3-1 to Crystal Palace.

"It’s still a very important game for us," he added.

"We need to win to ensure we finish fifth and we want to go out on a high, especially with it being Stevie’s last game.

"We know we didn’t perform well enough against Crystal Palace last weekend.

"We need to play better and win as a thank-you to our supporters. They have been with us throughout the season and we must get the three points for them."

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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.