Liverpool CEO Billy Hogan has insisted that there are plans in place should the club fail to qualify for next season's Champions League.

The Reds have struggled to get going in the early stages of the 2022-23 Premier League, picking up just 10 points from their opening seven matches, which has left them in ninth spot in the table.

Jurgen Klopp's side are four points off the top four ahead of two difficult matches against Arsenal and Manchester City, while they will also face West Ham United in the league on October 19.

Liverpool could qualify for next season's Champions League by winning the competition this term, but they have already lost heavily to Napoli in the group stage and are not considered to be among the frontrunners for the trophy at this stage.

The club's CEO has said that the Reds will always attempt to qualify for the European Cup, but they have plans in place should that not occur this term.

"That's always our goal at the start of the season," Hogan told Bild. "Of course, qualifying is important because of the turnover we can make in the Champions League. But the way we run the club is to make sure we're as sustainable as possible. You can't automatically count on Champions League qualification.

"Jurgen would like to leave the club in better shape than he found it. He succeeded in Mainz, Dortmund and also in Liverpool. Since he's been there, sales have doubled.

"The stadium will be significantly larger. We have a new training ground. The club has grown significantly over the past six or seven years. We want to continue that because we think there is still a lot of potential."

Liverpool have also recently increased the capacity at Anfield to 55,000 and have plans to make room for 60,000 once the extension has been finished.

"That's important because we have more space for more fans," Hogan added. "We are in the fortunate position that ticket demand is exceptionally high. This allows us to generate more sales, which helps us in the toughest league in the world."

Liverpool are unbeaten in the Premier League since the 2-1 loss at Manchester United on August 22, but they have drawn their last two in England's top flight against Everton and Brighton & Hove Albion.

Klopp's team are already 11 points behind league leaders Arsenal, albeit with a game in hand, while they sit 10 points behind the reigning champions Manchester City.

Liverpool have responded to their 4-1 defeat to Napoli in the Champions League by winning their last two in the competition against Ajax and Rangers, which has placed them in second position in Group A.

A busy October will see the Reds face Arsenal, Man City, West Ham, Nottingham Forest and Leeds United in the Premier League, while they will face Rangers and Ajax in the Champions League before finishing their group-stage campaign at home to Napoli at the start of November. body check tags ::