Intro:

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers picks out new Southampton forward Shane Long as a threat before their Premier League curtain-raiser at Anfield on Sunday (KO 13:30 BST).

Script:

SOUNDBITE: (English) Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool manager (Q: What do you make of facing Southampton in your first game?)

"Southampton are a fantastic club. They've been in the top flight for many years and obviously had a few years dipped out of it, but they've come back in and in the last couple of seasons have been excellent. They have an experienced manager [Ronald Koeman] who has come in and obviously even though it's his first time working in the Premier League, he is experienced around the world and they've still got some outstanding players. They've obviously got young Shane Long in as well who can be a real handful. So they will expect to do well. Every team will lose players but every club will have the hope and the objective that they can continue to improve."

SOUNDBITE: (English) Brendan Rodgers, Liverpool manager (Q: Are you expecting another competitive season in the Premier League?)

"I think it will be. I think it will be the same as last year, very competitive. And as you say there are many seven teams who will be challenging for those positions [a top-four finish]. But that's the beauty of this league. It is, it's really competitive. It's a fantastic league to operate in as a manager and a player. But we'll be ready for the challenge. That's the nature of why we have tried to improve the squad again. We're looking to make this a sustainable team for over the course of the next five to ten years, brought in a lot of young talent. So we're trying to look after the now of the team but also the future of the team and the club and, as I said, they're really exciting players that we've brought in."