‘Too early to judge us title challengers’ claims Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers

Brendan Rodgers, the Liverpool manager, has insisted he has not even considered the prospect of making an unexpected title challenge despite his club setting the early Premier League pace.

Liverpool, who entertain Southampton today, surrendered their 100 per cent record in Monday’s 2-2 draw at Swansea but the point gained was enough to take them back to the top of the table.

Despite an impressive start, Rodgers knows bigger tests lie ahead and he urged caution in making any snap judgements for another six matches. But there is no doubt their early form has generated a positive mood as they seek to secure a return to the Champions League after a four-year absence.

“I haven’t even considered that [a title challenge] at all – the only focus is the next game,” said Rodgers. “We’ll assess it after 10 games, see where we sit there, then the halfway point and we’ll probably have a more realistic idea of where we can be.

“At this moment, we’ve played four and we’re in a good moment. There’s a lot more to come. We’ve made a good start. People will talk that it’s early stages, as will I, but these are hurdles you have to get over.

“We’re on 10 points already; at the end of last season we finished on 61 points and we talked about those extra 10 points that might have taken us into the Champions League – at this early stage we’ve got them. I believe the team has still got a lot of improvements to make because of the nature of what I’ve seen in the games and the potential we have in the players. We’ve got to sustain that but I’m really happy that in these early stages we’ve shown at least potential.”