'The hard work starts now, Raheem'
Brendan Rodgers will warn Raheem Sterling if and when he signs his new contract – the hard work starts now.
The boss revealed on Thursday afternoon that he was hopeful a deal would be completed within 24 hours.
It comes on the back of 25 appearances for the 18-year-old this season - more than any other Liverpool player.
But though he is now established as a regular, and even has an England cap to his name, Rodgers is keen to let the young winger know that his journey to being a top-class player is only just beginning.
"I always congratulate players when they sign a new contract and then I warn them," the Liverpool manager told reporters.
"I tell them they need to decide after this contract whether there is going to be another contract at one of the biggest clubs in the world or whether it will be at a different level. They can't rely on this contract and I make sure they know that.
"There is a lot of development and a lot of nurturing to go yet.
"He has been rewarded as a young player who, at 17 years of age, has come in and performed very well. He will never be elevated above his position here at the club, but he has been rightly rewarded and it is fantastic for the football club."
For Rodgers, another battle will be to manage expectations of a player who is the club's youngest ever international player.
He said: "For young Raheem we need to help manage those expectations. If you go into a lot of clubs as a young player it is a nice little journey.
"If you go in at one of the biggest clubs in the world it is magnified one million per cent. It is our job to nurture him and educate him and there is still so much for him to learn.
"He hasn't long left school. It is not only football education he needs but life education as well. We will support him in that and make sure the expectancy is at the correct level.
"He needs to know at 18, when I'm talking about him improving, what does he need to improve on?
"How can we improve his goalscoring, his creativity, his efficiency in the game? He's come in at 17 and it's been great how he's performing but his job is simple: to score goals, create goals, make interceptions and tackles."