Brendan Rodgers

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has revealed that his side are ahead of schedule in terms of Champions League qualification, which was earmarked for a later date.

The Reds have been in brilliant form this season, scoring for fun in the league and are currently the top scorers in the league, eclipsing the likes of Manchester City, who held that title for major parts of the season.

The former Swansea manager has been instrumental in leading Liverpool back to European glory, where they last played in 2009.

The Reds are currently fourth in the league, only four points adrift of Chelsea at the top and six ahead of Tottenham, their nearest rivals in the race for the top four.

However, with the Merseyside this close to their first Premier League title in ages, Rodgers will be looking to push on and make this season an overwhelming success.

The emergence of the likes of Luis Suarez, Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge, backed by the experience of Steven Gerrard has given them a fighting chance.

Liverpool travel to the St. Mary's Stadium on Saturday to take on Southampton with an opportunity to close the gap at the top.

"When we spoke to the owners when I decided to come here, I certainly wanted to be challenging for the Champions League by the time we were in our third year. I knew there was a big job to do at Liverpool. We've probably moved ahead of where I thought we would be this season - some of our play has been exceptional - but there are still areas of the team that I feel we need to improve on," Rodgers told talkSPORT.

"Working with the players, I'm not surprised, because I see how much they put into it and the qualities they have.

"Sometimes in the press this season, I've maybe been deemed to be playing down our hopes and expectations. But it's an authentic look at where we're at.

"Certainly, where we are at the moment with 11 games to go, it has been a wonderful season for us. But we've still got a lot of work to do," he concluded.

Brendan Rodgers Liverpool FC