Brendan Rodgers admits patience may be required before Liverpool are playing the kind of stylish football which won him a reputation as one of the game's best young coaches.

The 39-year-old earned acclaim from neutrals for the style of play he implemented at Swansea, where ball retention and pressure were watch-words.

Rodgers wants Liverpool to play a similar brand of football but he also accepts that it won't happen overnight.

He said: "For me it is going to take time for how I want to play and the philosophy I want to introduce.

"My longer-term aim is to arrive here seeing how quickly we can do so.

"The principles of your game are based on the players you have and there is no doubt I'll have a look at that and see if there is anyone I need to bring in to improve that.

"We want to play winning football, effective football. I know what we need to play that way and win that way but ultimately that will be the job of the next period of time.

"It is about results and the progress of the team but we will make our first steps and hopefully that will improve over the next few years.

"What we need to do is improve the team and the quality of the team and hopefully over the next couple of years we will be ready to challenge and ready to compete."

For all the talk of how a Rodgers team will pass the ball, hard work and pressing opponents are just as important to the Northern Irishman.

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"I have conditions to work in. I create a framework and the players come in and adhere to it," said the new Anfield boss.

"I hear people talking about working hard but for me it is an obligation - it's not a choice.

"We all work hard in our everyday lives as people and for players it is no different.

"It is quite simple. You come in and do a hard day's work. You make sure in training and on match days you come in and you can take your top off and wring it out and it will be soaking wet.

"It is that honesty that you want. If you can work hard and you have got talent it takes you a long way.

"That will be the emphasis for me here - to try to reinforce that and ensure that commitment to the cause is important because we have a cause to fight for here."