Rodgers: He can be a Red for years
Brendan Rodgers reiterated his praise for in-form Stewart Downing and insisted the winger will remain at Liverpool for years to come if he continues to work hard and be a consistent performer for the side.
Downing impressed during the Reds' 4-0 win over Fulham on Saturday, supplying Steven Gerrard for the second goal of the game, before racing in from the right touchline to fire the third past Mark Schwarzer.
And Rodgers is hopeful the 28-year-old can maintain his fine vein of form and continue to play an integral role for the team in the coming weeks and months.
"Over the last six or seven weeks, his consistency has been outstanding and he has been asked to play in a number of different positions," the manager told his pre-Stoke press conference.
"I was delighted for him because it was a top performance against Fulham. He scored a goal, he created a goal and he was a threat. He played really well against Aston Villa at full-back. He's at an age where he can be at the top of his game.
"He is an outstanding player and mentally, he is really in tune with the team and the work. When he is playing like he was at the weekend, there are not too many players who can play on the sides better than him.
"Hopefully he can continue with his form. He's still got a few years left on his contract here. We don't want him to go anywhere - all we have ever asked is that every player can be at the top of their game and be as good as they can possibly be.
"If he continues along the lines that he currently is, he'll be here for a number of years yet.
"Confidence is the key to everything and there's no doubt that his confidence levels are very high at the moment. But he knows that to maintain that he has to continue to work hard and keep doing things consistently well."
For Rodgers, finding a level of consistency throughout the squad will be key to the Reds climbing the table.
Prior to the loss against Villa at Anfield just over a week ago, his side had claimed back-to-back wins in the league for the first time in over a year.
"I think the Villa result will probably be the most important result of our season," insisted Rodgers. "It will show that no matter how well you have been playing and no matter how confident you feel, if you don't work with intensity and aggression, you can get punished by any side.
"We started well and if we had of got an early goal it would have been different but the most important thing was the reaction [against Fulham].
"I have no doubt that the quality in this group is absolutely fantastic - but the big word is consistency. If we can maintain that, then we have got a big chance.
"And the players over the last three months have had a good level of consistency. What's important when you have a bad day, and it's always a sign of a good team and top players, is you react.
"I've always had great confidence in this group that we would improve as the season went on. If someone would have said to me on September 1 that we would be five points short of the top four, I think we'd all have been happy.
"Our young payers have got experience, new players have taken responsibility on board whilst working with the new manager to find new ways of playing football. There's a real strong spirit in the group and we're improving all the time."
That spirit will be tested when the Reds travel to Stoke on Boxing Day, keen to end Tony Pulis's side's run of eight games unbeaten in the league.
Stoke, currently level on points with Liverpool, boast the best defensive record in the top-flight and the Reds have not beat the Potters away from home in the league since 1984.
"I've always respected Stoke," said Rodgers. "There's no right or wrong way to play football. But I think that Stoke sometimes have got a lot of unfair criticism. How they play the game, they challenge you physically, which is fine because it is a physical sport and at the top level that is what happens.
"The players are very committed to the cause, Tony has them very well organised and has some outstanding players. It's always going to be a tough challenge but we'll be ready for it.
"We'll just have to deal with what the game throws at us. My focus is on ourselves. I'd rather Stoke worry about how we play. But at the same time, you have to respect their game and the strengths that they have and combat that.
"At times that isn't always pretty. Sometimes you have to stand up and be counted.
"We've got a strong mentality here and we have showed in games like the one against Everton that we have a mix and a balance which allows us to compete physically while also playing football. If you want to be a winning team, you have to have that balance."