|
The "void" created by the exit Steven Gerrard will need to be filled by quality replacements, according to Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers. Gerrard, 34, has agreed an 18-month contract with MLS side L.A. Galaxy which starts this summer, but Rodgers is now keen to draw a line under his captain's exit and focus on the future. "There is nothing more to add. Everything has been said on that situation that needs to be said," he told reporters. "There is no doubt Steven moving on leaves a void on and off the pitch but the club has to keep moving forward to bring in the best players we can to this wonderful football club. "We need to replace that quality either through some of our young players getting an opportunity, or our players stepping up to the mark, but also by bringing in that quality. "Time will tell on that. It has been difficult and over the last couple of years some of our top players have gone out, Jamie Carragher in the first year, Pepe Reina and Luis Suarez. No one knows that more than me. "For a manager it is very difficult because these players have been outstanding but you need a plan in place to replace that quality. We as a football club will expect that quality and must have it going forward. This is Liverpool, we have to be in the running for the world's best." Manchester City's James Milner has been one of many players linked with a move to Anfield as his contract expires this summer, but Rodgers cautioned: "James is a wonderful player and has always been a talented player but players are consistently linked here through agents to get a better deal at another club. "For a lot of players it's two things -- game-time and money, simple as that. That's the way of the modern game -- how often they are going to play and the money they'll earn. There are cases when players will forfeit the financial side to come to a project that they feel they can play a big part in. "Of course it is difficult because players can opt to go elsewhere for whatever reason. Some may prefer to go to Spain, some to London because of the life or whatever. But you just have to keep working to find the players who can make you the best you can be."
|
