Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has insisted that anything less than Champions League qualification means an unsuccessful season at Anfield.

Rodgers led Liverpool to seventh in his first season on Merseyside, with the Reds finishing 12 points behind fourth place and a Champions League spot.

Despite admitting that he must be financially prudent, Rodgers believes that Liverpool must always strive to play in Europe's premier club competition by attracting ambitious players at the right price.

He told The Mirror: "The measure of Liverpool will always be the Champions League and the big European competitions, for the length of time I'm here and when I move on for the next manager coming in.

"I can stand here and make excuses, I can say Manchester City have spent £90 odd million and other teams already in there have got stronger and reinforced as a group, but that's not going to solve anything, it won't help my job here. If you start to think about it being unfair then you just anchor yourself and it's hard to move on then. That pressure to deliver is what you expect at a big club, of course it's difficult, but it's why we are here.

"If you are in those top echelons you can maybe attract another type of player but I'm not going to bleat and moan about it being unfair, I just need to get on with the job and do the best I can."

The 40-year-old begins his second season as Reds boss tomorrow when Liverpool get the 2013-14 Premier League campaign underway at home to Stoke City.