Roy Admits Transfer U-Turn

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson insists he is now keen to keep the current squad intact ahead of the January transfer window.

The Reds chief has previously signalled his intent to bring new blood into the club after a disastrous start to the current campaign that left them marooned in the bottom three.

But Liverpool have returned to form of late and Hodgson is pleased with the current contingent in the Anfield camp.

The 63-year-old admits he has changed his opinion on players he inherited from predecessor Rafa Benitez ahead of the trip to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

"Basically I know what my best team is - the best team is more than 11 players," said the Reds boss, who accepts his view may have been tainted by poor results.

"I could have a best team and say one week it is with X and another week it is Y but it still would be my best team because the players are interchangeable.

"I have a very clear picture now of what we should and need to be doing and the squad is stronger and getting stronger.

"It was probably stronger than I realized at certain stages in the early part of the season when we were losing games.

"Hopefully that will mean we won't need to do too much in the January transfer window because it might be nice if we can keep all of these players fit and well and add the odd player or two who can help us.

"I have a lot of faith in the players who are playing at the moment because in the last two or three weeks we have put in some good performances."

Hodgson and his scouting team have been spotted at various matches on the continent in the last few weeks.

But his belief that things are improving, allied to an uncertainty of what transfer funds will be available, is likely to mean a limited amount of activity in January.

"I don't know what is going to happen in the transfer window," said Hodgson.

"We are doing a lot of work, covering a lot of matches and looking at a lot of players.

"We are trying to arm ourselves as much as possible with information.

"It is the work in progress which every club has to do - constantly monitoring players and what is out there, what might be useful for you because you never know what is around the corner.

"When push comes to shove in January none of us know as yet what transfer funds can be made available and we have no idea if there will be any guarantee the people we are watching will be available.

"I would like to continue with this squad of players until the end of the season because I have no ambitions or desires to move anyone.

"But on the other hand I can't give a stone certain guarantee that there won't be players moving in January, and if so we would need to know where to go for their replacements."