Brendan Rodgers is confident his top players are happy at Liverpool

With Liverpool set to miss out on Champions League qualification for a fourth successive season, Rodgers knows the likes of Luis Suarez and Daniel Agger will be targets for other clubs come the summer.

But the 40-year-old, while admitting he is prepared to ward off interest, says it is part and parcel for any club.

Rodgers said: "Even clubs that have won the league are faced with having to keep hold of their players.

"So there's always going to be speculation about players here and we expect that to happen again.

"I am a realist. We've got some outstanding players here who other clubs will show interest in but I can only speak from my experience of working with the players here and I think they are all happy.

"Last summer was a pivotal time. A lot of players could have left and we did lose a lot of experience when Maxi Rodriguez and Craig Bellamy left.

"But the rest of them decided to stay and some even signed new deals. They all seem happy. They seem to want to be here as we move the club forward."