McManaman certain Liverpool are progressing

Former Liverpool winger Steve McManaman has insisted the club are progressing under new boss Brendan Rodgers.

The Merseyside club have failed to match last season’s march to the FA Cup and League Cup finals and saw their Europa League campaign end at the quarter-final stage.

However, with Liverpool needing just one point to surpass last season’s Premier League total with four games remaining, McManaman is convinced Rodgers has moved things forward.

“All we want to see at the moment is progression,” he told the club’s official website.

“We know that we have fallen behind other sides in recent years, so all we want as fans is to close the gap – and to do that we’ll also need to have patience.

“The performances against the likes of Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United have been really strong. But then draws at home against West Ham or away at Reading have hurt us.

“I think you can see the performances and you can see the way we have hammered teams this year.

“We just need to try and drive forward to a level where, 80 percent of the time, we are putting these performances in and getting the points.”

McManaman, who enjoyed a successful four-year spell with Real Madrid following his departure from Anfield, is also keen for Liverpool to end their season on a high.

“Ideally, you want to see winning performances and really good team showings. The players have got to show the fans and give them something that they can look at and think, next year we’re going to really catch everybody up.”