Henderson eyes top-four spot

Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson says his team’s youngsters are ready to fire the Merseyside club into the top four.

The former Sunderland midfielder made a big-money move to Anfield in 2011, with his first year at the club ending in disappointment as they finished eighth in the English Premier League.

However, with manager Kenny Dalglish replaced by Brendan Rodgers, and youngsters such as Raheem Sterling, Suso and Jonjo Shelvey impressing so far, the England under-21 captain believes better times are ahead.

“It is a very young team, but that is a good thing for us, and for the future,” he told the club’s website.

“But we aren’t just looking at the future, this team and these players are ready now, and I think they have shown that over the last few weeks.”

Liverpool have struggled for form this season and occupy 14th place after seven games, picking up just six points along the way.

They are eight points off the Champions League place the American owners desperately want.

A silver lining for Rodgers and Liverpool has been the form of younger squad members, with Sterling catching the eye on the wing, and both Suso and Shelvey making a case for being included in Rodgers’ first 11 in future games.

Henderson captained England’s u-21 side to victory in the controversial clash with Serbia on Tuesday, while Shelvey made his senior England debut against San Marino on Friday.