Hodgson: Liverpool 'over-staffed'
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Hodgson: Liverpool 'over-staffed'
Roy Hodgson shows off his summer signings
Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson has warned players if they have nothing to offer either the current first team or the future of the club then they will be shipped out of Anfield.
The 62-year-old has already cut down on personnel he believes to be surplus to requirements and has not ruled out further exits in the coming months.
Since taking over from predecessor Rafael Benitez, Hodgson has allowed the likes of Alberto Aquilani, Emiliano Insua, Albert Riera, Diego Cavalieri, Philipp Degen, Nabil El Zhar, Krisztian Nemeth and Damien Plessis to leave, either permanently or on loan.
Hodgson has, in the meantime, bolstered the British and home-grown quota at Anfield with the arrivals of Joe Cole, Paul Konchesky, Brad Jones, Danny Wilson, while also signing the proven quality of Denmark's Christian Poulsen and Portugal international Raul Meireles, and the Liverpool boss is keen to see the club move towards a leaner, more competitive, existence where no-one is allowed to tread water.
"We were unbelievably over-staffed when I came to the club and, if the truth be known, we still are over-staffed," said Hodgson. "It was just as big a job making sure some of the players who never feature for the first team move on and that we limit our squad to players who are either in the frame to play first-team football or who have a bright future who are still anxious to play academy and reserve team football.
"We don't want that middle group who are too old for reserve football but are not serving any purpose for the first team because they never feature."