Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has insisted that the Reds should not consider fourth place to be their ceiling point this season.

Rodgers believes that creating a minimum target could have a negative impact on his squad and lead to complacency.

The Reds boss revealed that he delivered a message to his players in training on Friday that they must continue to aim high throughout the campaign.

He told The Mirror: "I want to reinforce that it isn't just about fourth place for this club. This club is bigger than that, we must always aim for the top.

"The standards set at this club are incredibly high but I never said the expectancy was too high. That is where we want to be, aiming for the top. That is where I and the players want to work and we will fight for our lives to get there.

"We know what will come our way when you don't win games and we are trying to still improve so the feeling was fine. You can see in their performances it hasn't affected them and, if anything, we have grown from that and it has been the lever for us to continue to work well."

Rodgers's side sit four points off the top four ahead of today's match against Aston Villa at Anfield.