The new Reds boss has told his players that if they are not prepared to fight for Champions League football next season, he doesn't want them to stay at the club

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has warned his players that they must be prepared to face the consequences should they display a lack of fight to secure Champions League football next season.

A return to Europe's elite club competition is Rodgers' main objective for the upcoming campaign, informing his squad that he expects them all to dig deep in order to achieve that.

In his first official team meeting since taking over at Anfield from Kenny Dalglish in June, the Northern Irishman revealed that anyone unwilling to believe in his vision will be free to leave the club.

"You can only sell the dream going forward," Rodgers told Sky Sports. "There's a lot of nostalgia surrounding this club, but it's important that we recognise this is 2012 and we're not in the Champions League.

"The top players want to play at that level. Steven Gerrard wants to play at that level, Jamie Carragher, they're players who have won it."In the coming years we'll strive towards that. If that's not enough for a player, then they will go, simple as that."Rodgers has also had to deal with speculation linking striker Luis Suarez with a move away from Merseyside, with big-spending Paris Saint-Germain previously linked with the Uruguayan forward.However, the former Swansea City manager has dismissed fears that Suarez could be lured away from Anfield by a big-money offer, stating that the 25-year-old professed his desire to stay at the club following a recent chat.

"The focus was on the future, and what I believe he can bring to the team in the way that we play," Rodgers said, "He was fantastic, he was very open, and I think he was impressed by how we played last year."