Rodgers wants early transfers

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers wants to act quickly in the January transfer window and is confident he does not have to sell to buy.

It is no secret the Anfield boss is keen to add to his attacking options, with his squad having registered the worst shooting accuracy in the Premier League this season with 37 per cent.

Liverpool have become dependent on the top-flight's leading scorer, Luis Suarez, and are reportedly planning to bring in support in the form of Chelsea's Daniel Sturridge and the re-signing of their former youth player, Blackpool's Tom Ince.

Rodgers is consequently determined to complete early business in the New Year to secure his targets and avoid the mistakes of the summer, when the club failed to complete any August deadline day deals.

"I think we will hopefully be able to do business at the beginning," he said. "That was our strategy coming out of August - that we could get that support at the beginning of the month. That's the idea and if we could do that it would be a big boost for us.

"I have always thought that if you have three-and-a-half goalscorers in your team, you have got a chance.

"We have got Luis Suarez, and Steven Gerrard will get goals. If we can add a couple more who instinctively get into the box and get goals, with the domination that we are having in games, then we have got a chance in the second half of the season."

Following the big-money spending spree of Liverpool's owners in 2011, when Kenny Dalglish was manager and Andy Carroll, Stewart Downing and Jordan Henderson were signed among others without justifying their fees, there has been speculation about Rodgers' budget.

But the former Swansea City boss is confident he has money to spend and will not have to raise funds by offloading fringe members of his squad, such as Downing or Joe Cole, who has been linked with a reunion with his ex-West Ham United boss, Harry Redknapp, at Queens Park Rangers.

"I don't need to sell anyone," said Rodgers. "It is about building the squad and trying to make it competitive, adding numbers to it.

"We are going into a month that if we can hang on in there, keep the performance level up and pick up some points then we can kick on."

Kicking on would include trying to reach Rodgers' aim of a place in the Premier League's top four, which 12th-placed Liverpool currently trail by 10 points ahead of hosting Southampton on Saturday afternoon.

"Fourth place is a massive ask but that has to be our target," he said. "Our objective is to hang onto the coat tails and give ourselves a fighting chance moving into January."