Rodgers: We need to Spend more Money to Compete with Tottenham

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that he needs more quality in his side if he has to compete with the likes of Tottenham Hotspur for a place in the top four. The Reds sit top of the table having procured nine points from their first three games but the former Swansea manager believes that they are still some way off from competing with their rivals.

The Reds have splurged the cash this summer but are still a long way from matching Tottenham's £100m summer spend, mostly attributed to the sale of Gareth Bale for a record £86m fee to Real Madrid. Rodgers brought in three defenders, namely, Kolo Toure Tiago Ilori and Mamadou Sakho and also boosted their attack by bringing in Victor Moses on loan from Chelsea along with Luis Alberto and Iago Aspas in the beginning of the transfer window.

"We still need to make improvements. Tottenham have spent £100m to try and get in the top four. It will take another few windows to get that quality in the group," Rodgers said.

Rodgers was awarded the manager of the month trophy for his performance in taking Liverpool to the top of the table, which included a 1-0 win over Manchester United. Daniel Sturridge, who is in prolific form for the Reds was adjudged the Player of the month award for scoring three goals in his last three games.

"I'm very honoured but don't receive it on my own. It's a collective effort. The players have been outstanding. The other group is the staff. The commercial team, recruitment team. We are all together and it's a good start. It is important to maintain that and we have to be vigilant. We can be better. We have shown in stages the quality we can have with the passion, resilience and desire. We just need to keep getting results. We need to keep the feel-good factor going," Rodgers said.

On Sturridge's performance, he added, "I felt that if you gave him an opportunity, he is a natural goalscorer. He has got all things to make him a top striker. He has had that confidence since he came in and he has committed himself. To get a return of 16 goals in 20 games, that is the ratio you need to be a top scorer. I'm not surprised but it's always pleasant when they turn out so well."