Brendan Rodgers has told his Liverpool players that the fourth Champions League qualifying spot cannot be the height of their ambitions and has not ruled out overtaking Manchester City, the champions, in the Premier League.

Liverpool have overcome their worst start to a season in over a century to move to within four points of fourth-placed Everton following last weekend's win at West Ham United. The prospect of reinforcements in the January transfer window, plus an inviting run of fixtures over the Christmas period, has encouraged talk of a return to the Champions League for the first time since 2009-10 but the optimistic Rodgers is aiming higher than the final qualification place.

Asked whether fourth place was open this season, the Liverpool manager replied: "So is third, so is second and maybe even first. I said to the players this morning that everyone talks about fourth place but what about third? We are 11 points off second so, if we can get some consistency, keep our mentality and our focus then it is not fourth place we want to aim for. We have still to play Manchester City and we should have beaten them at home.

"You want to aim as high as you possibly can but, of course, when the club has been out of the top four for so long, that is the ultimate ambition. But we will not get too carried away. We are not even halfway through the league. We just need to focus day to day on our work, tactically prepare the team, keep confidence high and keep as many players available as we can in order to get results."

Liverpool entertain Aston Villa and Fulham in their next two fixtures at Anfield, before facing Stoke City, Queens Park Rangers and Sunderland before the visit to Manchester United on 13 January. Their manager says it is not unrealistic to believe City, currently second, can be caught.

"I am always positive with the players because I've seen their work, their honesty and I see their willingness to take responsibility," Rodgers added. "I want to reinforce that it isn't just about fourth place for this club. This club is bigger than that. OK, we might not arrive there this season but everyone is talking about arriving in fourth position when there is not that big a difference between us and third. There is not that big a difference to second. There are 17 points between us and Manchester United and that is a big ask, of course, but 11 points isn't and four points certainly isn't. There is real belief in the group. They believe in what we are doing."

Liverpool have their leading goalscorer, Luis Suárez, back from a one-match suspension to face Villa on Saturday but the visitors will be without Darren Bent for their entire Christmas programme after he suffered a hamstring injury in the Capital One Cup win at Norwich City in midweek.

Bent's miserable season under Paul Lambert continued when he lasted only half an hour of his first start in six weeks. "He went for a scan on Wednesday and he has got a problem with his hamstring, which will keep him out for a few weeks," Lambert confirmed. "Maybe four weeks, I'd say, before we see him back."