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Brendan Rodgers has urged fans to “stay calm” as his new-look Liverpool side battle to gain momentum after a stuttering start to the campaign.

Anfield was gripped by frustration and anxiety over the past week as the Reds were beaten at home by Aston Villa in the Premier League and then struggled to overcome Ludogorets in their opening Champions League clash.

The feel-good factor generated by the emphatic win at Tottenham before the international break has been replaced by concerns about Liverpool's ability to break teams down, coupled with the defensive frailties which both Villa and the Bulgarian champions exploited.

But Rodgers insists the past two matches have simply illustrated the sizeable task of bedding in so many new faces following the club’s extensive recruitment drive.

There were six summer signings in the starting line up which faced Villa and just one fewer against Ludogorets.

“There’s no doubt it is a challenge and I think everyone connected with the game will understand that,” Rodgers told the ECHO.

“We had to bring in a lot of new players this summer because of the demands of the Champions League and the other competitions.

“We’ve got players adapting to a different country as well as a new team.

“We’ve got three changes in our back five and on top of that it’s very inexperienced. The full-backs are 20 and 22, the two centre-backs 24 and 25. There’s not a lot of games in terms of big experience so it’s bound to take a bit of time.

“It’s something that will develop on the training field over the coming months. I’m pleased with how the players have settled and my experience tells me they will get better.

“The key message is to stay calm. There is no magic formula. This is a group which will develop and improve. I see big potential in the players here.

“We’re still in the early stages of the season. We’ve played five games in all competitions and won three of them with lots of positive aspects in those games which sees me really enthused about the future.

“Over the course of the season we will get stronger and stronger.”

A period of transition as players adjust to their new surroundings has been made even more testing by the loss of established duo Daniel Sturridge and Joe Allen to injury.

Liverpool haven’t been able to hit the heights they consistently reached during last term’s thrilling title challenge but Rodgers says a sense of perspective is vital.

The Reds may have lost twice in the Premier League already but they are only one point worse off than champions Manchester City ahead of tomorrow’s clash with West Ham at Upton Park.

Their six-point haul from four matches is also two better than their return from the corresponding fixtures last term.

“I was talking to the staff about this the other night – we weren’t blowing teams away in September last year,” he said.

“We had three 1-0 victories and I was being asked questions about whether we would be able to score enough goals. We ended the season with 101 in the league. We weren’t playing in September how we played from February until May.

“Against Villa we were not at our usual level in the final third but that game came after a poor international break.

“We lost a number of players and that upset our rhythm and we had to change the structure. We have moved on from that, regrouped and got a great result in the Champions League.

“The team we played had beaten Lazio and PSV Eindhoven away. If we had beaten one of those two teams then winning 2-1 would have been deemed a very good result for us.

“But because not many people had heard of Ludogorets they expected us to win more comfortably. There aren’t too many easy games in the Champions League and we showed the character and mental qualities that successful teams have by coming through in the end. We’ll look to take those characteristics into the weekend game.”

Rodgers has been delighted by the impact of new full-backs Alberto Moreno and Javier Manquillo.

The young Spanish duo both displayed their rich potential as they played key roles in the nail-biting European triumph.

Moreno, a £12million buy from Sevilla, delivered the cross which enabled Mario Balotelli to fire the Reds in front. Manquillo, who arrived on an initial two-year loan from Atletico Madrid, showcased his commitment in chasing down a lost cause which led to keeper Milan Borjan bringing him down for the last-gasp penalty which Steven Gerrard converted.

“They have both settled really well,” Rodgers said.

“They had been on our radar for quite a while.

“Alberto was well known as one of the top left-backs in Spain, while we were aware of young Manquillo through the Spanish national youth teams. Our scouts went out to watch him last year.

“He had very little playing time for Atletico because their right-back (Juanfran) was well established.

“But we knew he was a talent and felt his game when he did play was suited to how we wanted to work. There’s big potential there but he’s also able to affect the team now.”

Both appear ideally suited to Rodgers’ attacking brand of football but the manager says they are still learning their trade.

Moreno was among those caught upfield in the 90th minute when Ludogorets counter-attacked and equalised through substitute Dani Abalo.

“There are areas to develop and improve,” he added. “When we were 1-0 up we were opened up a wee bit through naivety. That’s in conjunction with youth. If you have an experienced player in there of 28 or 29 then he doesn’t go and we don’t leave the space. It’s all part of the nurturing process of this team.

“Full-backs in the modern game need to have the qualities to get forward but first and foremost I like my defenders to be able to defend.

“Young Javi has that. He gets tight to people, he’s like a rash. He presses and is hard to beat.

“He has got that engine to get up there and look to get crosses in. He was probably disappointed he didn’t score the other night.

“As for Alberto, his enthusiasm takes him forward really well and he serves the ball well. In terms of managing the game, that’s something he will learn. They’re in a new country with new football, new pressures.”

Martin Skrtel is expected to earn a recall at Upton Park after recovering from a knee injury.

Mamadou Sakho is likely to make way, enabling Dejan Lovren to return to his favoured left-sided centre-back spot.