Werner expects Rodgers to deliver ´strong improvement´

Liverpool chairman Tom Werner believes manager Brendan Rodgers is the right man for the job, but he expects to see “strong improvement”.

Rodgers came under fire after his side finished sixth in the Premier League last season, and eight points behind fourth-placed Manchester United.

But the Northern Irishman was backed to make changes to his backroom staff and make big-money signings, including Christian Benteke and Roberto Firmino.

Werner said stability was a key reason behind keeping Rodgers, but he also believes the former Swansea City manager is the right man to take Liverpool forward.

“First of all, we take a long-term view on these matters,” he told the Liverpool Echo.

“We believed in Brendan when he won Manager of the Year for 2013/14. That was only a year earlier when he was awarded that compliment.

“I think our track record demonstrates that our approach and attitude is very much focused on stability. We have demonstrated that both on and off the pitch.

“We do believe Brendan is the right man for Liverpool and the right man to take the club forward.

“When we hired Brendan we wanted to see improvement.

“Hopefully when we have a conversation in a year’s time he will have demonstrated and the squad will have demonstrated that we’ve regained top form again.”

Liverpool also endured a worrying finish to last season, taking just eight points from their final nine league games.

Werner said it was a disappointing campaign, having just missed out on the title in 2013-14, and he wants to see better.

“I don’t really want to get into the reasons why we fell short of our goals,” he said.

“What I will say is that the review was no different from the review we do at the end of every season. It was about looking at how we can move forward as a club and be consistently stronger.

“We had some very constructive discussions with Brendan. We learned a lot and we are very much looking forward to the start of the season because we’re a stronger team now than we were a year ago.

“Brendan was very instrumental in the transfer targets that we went after this summer. We expect we’re going to see a strong improvement.”