Rodgers: I decide signings

02 May 2013 11:17

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is adamant he will have the final say on signings.

Owners Fenway Sports Group had initially wanted the Reds boss to operate under a director of football but those plans were shelved in favour of a committee-style set-up. That group includes Rodgers, head of recruitment Dave Fallows and chief scout Barry Hunter (both recruited from Manchester City in the autumn) as well as head of analysis Michael Edwards.

"There is absolutely no way a player will come in here if I don't want him," Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo. "I will always be the first person it comes to. That's not being arrogant, that's how we operate here and how it works in this country."

He added: "Abroad it works differently where you have a coach and the club will bring in the players. The coach then works with the players he's given.

"A lot has been made of it but the fact is the process that happens here is no different to what happens at other English clubs.

"We have a number of people, scouting staff and analysts, who will look for targets who fit the profile of the players that we want.

"Then I will sit down with those guys, look at those targets and make a shortlist from that.

"All that work that goes on is of great help to me. We identify players, gather all the information we possibly can and then if they're right for what we need it comes down to whether they are affordable and available.

"I know the club will go and do the best it can to get the players we want.

"But it's very clear that anyone we sign will be because I want him here."

Source: PA