Rodgers confident of Suarez stay

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers insisted Luis Suarez will not look to leave the club after another headline-grabbing performance.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers insisted Luis Suarez will not look to leave the club after another headline-grabbing performance.

Suarez scored a hat-trick as Liverpool routed Wigan Athletic 4-0 on Saturday, taking his tally to 21 goals in 27 Premier League appearances this season.

Asked whether the likely absence of Champions League football next season will prompt Suarez to leave Anfield, Rodgers dismissed any chance of an exit.

“I don’t have any issues with Luis in that manner, I sit here with great confidence that he’ll stay,” he said.

“Of course there will be interest in top players and he’s a world-class player, but I speak regularly with Luis and we had a good meeting with his agent a couple of weeks ago and he expressed from his perspective as well how happy he is.

“It’s hard to say (the Champions League) is not important because top players want to play at the top level.

“What he’s got is a real affinity here. The supporters adore him, he loves the city of Liverpool, he loves being here and I think he genuinely sees a bright future for us.”

Wigan manager Roberto Martinez was downbeat following the heavy defeat and blamed ‘soft defending’ for conceding four goals.

“We see the next 10 games a great opportunity to get points, but it’s clear we need to learn some lessons quickly as the next five home games we can’t defend in the manner that we did in the first 20 minutes,” he said.

“We do need to improve on what we did today, that’s quite clear; if we are that soft defensively you’re going to make it very difficult to win football games.”

Emmerson Boyce and James McArthur were seen arguing throughout the game, though Martinez chose to praise the pair.

“If I’m honest with you, I am glad to see that because you need passion, and the position we are in we need passion,” he said.

“The players can’t accept defeat and it was a bit of frustration between players, they thought we had the opportunity to win and get three points and the reaction from McArthur and Boyce is what I want in the dressing room.”