Brendan: We'll fight for top four

Rodgers believes his players are starting to get to grips with the philosophy he is seeking to implement at Anfield and the manager feels the unity that runs through his tight-knit squad at Melwood can help carry them over the line.

Asked at his pre-Stoke press conference on Friday if he felt a top-four finish was achievable, the Northern Irishman replied: "Yes, absolutely. There's no doubt that it's going to be very difficult for us but that is our fight.

"We've got great quality here. The players are very much unified and there's a wonderful spirit in the group and even though we are frustrated with last night's result [against Udinese], the performance in the league last time out was fantastic.

"So we'll look to carry that into the weekend's game, which we know will be difficult. There's still a very long season ahead of us and we're starting to get to grips with how we are going to work as a team and I'm sure that will bring us good results.

"Some of the football last night was fantastic; the speed of our passing and our movement and creativity was great.

"Seeing some of the younger players come in has just been fantastic. But there's a lot of work to do here and that will take a bit of time. We have to keep working hard to correct our mistakes and thankfully we've got a great bunch of players who are committed to that."

On the back of a convincing 5-2 victory over Norwich in their last Premier League outing, the Reds will be eager to clinch a second win of the season when they face Stoke on Sunday.

And the manager believes that even though the visitors have a reputation for a direct style, Tony Pulis's men can play football as well and will look to do so at Anfield at the weekend.

"No matter what kind of football you play, playing against any team in this league is difficult," he said. "Stoke are one of those teams who are very hard to beat, I've got great respect for Tony Pulis and the work that he has done there and how he prepares his players.

"He's taken Stoke a long, long way in getting them promoted to the Premier League. They are now a very established team at this level. There's no right or wrong way to play football and at the end of the day it's about getting results.

"Tony will have his way of working and I don't think they get the praise they deserve for the football they do play because they play some good football. But obviously they have a stigma about playing a slightly longer game.

"You have to defend as a team against that and then bring your own style to the game."

The manager feels the Anfield crowd can play a vital part in spurring the side on against The Potters at the weekend and believes that such support has inspired the Reds to play some intricate, expansive football on their home turf so far this year.

All they need to do now, he insists, is turn those fine performances into results.

"To play at Anfield is a real honour and a privilege and the support we get from the crowd is incredible," he said. "It's certainly not a distraction playing at home.

"We've performed well at Anfield this season. We have won a number of Europa League games and we have come close in a number of Premier League games and should have won but we haven't.

"The backing that we get every time we play there is fantastic so [the recent results at home] are just one of those statistics that there's no explanation for. There's no secret to it, you've just got to try and work very, very hard.

"Physcologically there's nothing there for me, we've just got to get the results. We've got wonderful backing from the crowd and hopefully we can get some wins and perform well for the rest of the season."