Rodgers: We've got our hunger back

The Reds have garnered seven points from their opening three Barclays Premier League matches so far without conceding a goal and performing impressively against Stoke, Bournemouth and Arsenal.

And Rodgers admits he’s pleased with the mentality within his squad, and feels there’s a collective determination to achieve their goals this campaign.

“The players have come in and the hunger has returned back to the team, I think that’s clear,” the manager told reporters at Melwood.

“You’ve seen in the games we’ve played that freshness and ability to play with no fear. It was a difficult period for us at the end of last season, but that’s now been wiped clean and we’ve learnt our lesson from that.

“We’ve got new players in with a new motivation and ambitions. They are really enjoying the work and being here, so I think the stability within the group is good and there is real hunger in the team to do well – which is something that has been very clear over the course of pre-season and in these opening games.”

That change in temperament is the result of hours of hard work put in over the summer, both on and off the field, believes Rodgers.

“One of our objectives in pre-season was about reclaiming the mentality in the team and squad. That had certainly disappeared last season,” he explained.

“There has been a lot of hard work, a lot of communication, a lot of feedback both from coaches and players, and everyone is working towards a number of common goals.

“It’s still very early on, we’re excited about what the season can bring for us, but there is a lot of hard work ahead still.”

West Ham will pose the next test for Liverpool when they arrive at Anfield on Saturday.

The Hammers began the season with a 2-0 victory at Arsenal, but have lost their two home matches since with Leicester City and Bournemouth.

Nevertheless, Rodgers is anticipating a testing encounter against Slaven Bilic’s side.

“This will be our toughest game of the four,” he said. “They had a very, very good result the last time they played away [at Arsenal] and so we’re under no illusions – this will be a tough game for us.

“The two home games have been difficult for them. Their game against Bournemouth showed how well organised we were in terms of our game [against Bournemouth] because they’re a good side, play good football and can cause you problems.

“They’ve got a new manager – an excellent manager – who is still finding out about the Premier League and, importantly, about his own players.  I’m sure as time goes on, Slaven will do an excellent job there. We know they’ll come here as a team motivated to get a result.”

The visit of West Ham represents Liverpool’s second home game of the term – and Rodgers is eager to stress the importance a strong Anfield record can have on his team’s aspirations.

“It’s vital - for any team, to be fighting at the top end of the table, your home form is very, very important,” he stated. “For us, it’s a case of just looking to the next game and the next game being at home – and we want to ensure this season it is a real difficult place to come again.”

Rodgers added: “Every game has been a test - and this game will be no different. It will test our organisation again.

“But we’re playing at home and we’re a team that wants to ensure we keep that aggression in our game. You saw in our last performance against Arsenal that players are starting to understand their roles and co-operation with each other.

“Hopefully we’ll give them more problems, but we respect them as an opponent and know it’ll be tough.”