Brendan Rodgers: Reds won’t be able to spend way out of trouble

The Reds boss is on the cusp of sealing a deal for Chelsea forward Daniel Sturridge, while keeping tabs on Blackpool winger Tom Ince.

But aside from that pair it seems unlikely there will be many more additions because of budgetary restraints.

Rodgers, who laid into his side following their 3-1 Boxing Day capitulation at Stoke, said: “We won’t be overly busy in January but some reinforcements will be nice, just the addition of some firepower to help us at the top end of the field.

“There won’t be a great deal of business done, we are probably just trying to get some of the business done which we hoped to do in the summer.”

He added: “The budget was going to be tight this year, for a number of reasons, but we will be doing something because it is the need of the group.

“From next season the purse strings should loosen a bit more but in terms of this season it was always on the understanding it was going to be tight in terms of finance.”

The forthcoming transfer window, which opens on January 1, could prove critical for the Northern Irishman, who is under ever-increasing pressure as his side struggles.

Liverpool’s Britannia defeat left him with the same record as much-maligned former boss Roy Hodgson, with just 25 points won from 19 league matches.