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BRENDAN RODGERS has told Stewart Downing and Jose Enrique they must “fight” to get back in the Liverpool FC side or face the prospect of being sold in January.

The duo, who cost a combined total of £26million in the summer of 2011, were regulars under Kenny Dalglish last season but have found themselves out of favour since Rodgers' arrival.

Downing has started just once in the Premier League and didn't even make the bench for last weekend's clash with Manchester United. The England international has seen Raheem Sterling, Suso and Oussama Assaidi picked ahead of him with Rodgers questioning the winger's hunger.

See Stewart Downing's Premier League stats for this season in our Opta widget

Similarly, left-back Enrique, whose only start in the league came in the defeat to Arsenal, has slipped down the pecking order after some erratic displays and the manager has left both of them in no doubt where they stand.

“I don't waste my time waiting until January to tell both players what I know now,” said Rodgers.

“They know in relation to the demands of what we want and certainly what it is going to take for us to succeed and for them to fit into the dynamics of the group.

“As coaches we are not magicians. For me football players are no different to plumbers, to joiners to bricklayers, they are self-employed and us as medics, coaches and managers, we are the tools that help them to be better.

“We will give them everything to help them to be better, but if they don't want to show that self-motivation, if you haven't got that desire and hunger to succeed then it can be very difficult for you.

“It is about hunger and desire and that is why you admire big players who stay at the top for as long as they can because it is not just what they are doing in games.

“Look at Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher. You see these guys come in at the right time, eating the right foods, their weight is immaculate. It is a way of life and if you prepare yourself right and are prepared to work hard that gives you confidence and then confidence will ultimately lead to success.

“But if you are not quite right in your preparation and you come in looking in for an easy life, pick up your money, it won't be here. We are a club that has to be fighting going forward.”

Downing became the fourth most expensive player in Liverpool history when he arrived for £20million from Aston Villa last summer.

However, he didn't contribute either a goal or an assist in the league last season and has failed to impress the new manager so far. Rodgers insists there's an issue with his application, not his ability.

“Stewart is a good guy who came here for an awful lot of money,” said Rodgers.

“It hasn't quite worked out for him as he would want it. The big challenge for him now is that commitment to the cause to fight because he has the qualities.

“He has a wonderful left foot, but talent alone is not enough. You have to work hard, you have to fight for the shirt. We have seen that with a number of the young players and if you don't do that then longer-term you won't be here.”

Rodgers admits the way youngsters such as Sterling, Suso, Jack Robinson and Andre Wisdom have performed has made leaving out the likes of Downing and Enrique straightforward.

“My job couldn't be easier because if you are fighting and someone else isn't, it is so easy,” he added. “I assess it every day because I am on the field. I am not sat in an office, out playing golf two or three times a week and then turning up on a Friday, jumping on the coach and then picking the team.

“I am there watching the players every day. I get to see their ups and down and over time I can gauge their mentality and their work.

“I always say that what a player is committed to mentally that is what you will see physically. Lots of players will say they want to be in the team, they want to fight and then you watch them and physically they don't put their body on the line. That is what their commitment is mentally.

“Whenever I see Jamie Carragher out on his knees at the death of a game like on Wednesday whatever he is like physically that is his commitment mentally.

“The ones that don't put their bodies on the line stand out like a sore thumb. For me status does not matter. It doesn't matter how much money you have come for. I will play a 17-year-old if he fights and he has quality.”