SOCCER:JOSE REINA has suggested Liverpool need to strengthen their squad if they are to continue competing at the highest level. Although he said it would be "possible" for his team to finish in the Champions League places this season, the goalkeeper also named five other Premier League teams he considered to be stronger, and said the club would lose their best players if they did not improve.

“We have to finish this season in a better position than we are at the moment (ninth) and make sure we build for the next years and try to be competitive,” Reina said. “If not, it’s going to be difficult for them to keep these kind of players. We are not probably as strong as Man City, Arsenal, Man United, Chelsea and Tottenham can be so that’s why we have to make sure we build a better squad.

“At the moment, it’s almost impossible to compete for nine months against Chelsea, for example, and that is what I want. The clubs all around England are building proper squads. We have to do the same and we have to be able to compete.”

Asked about Liverpool’s chances of finishing among the top four this season, Reina added “(It is) possible; why not? But we have to be sure we deliver better performances, otherwise it’s going to be really, really, really difficult.”

Reina also called on the team’s supporters to do their bit and offer more backing for the manager Roy Hodgson. “Rafa (Benitez) was really beloved in Liverpool,” added Reina. “But I think it’s about time that the fans get behind Roy and support Roy 100 per cent.”

Elsewhere, Ledley King will see a specialist in Copenhagen on Monday as he tries to resolve the groin injury that has kept him out for more than a month. The defender suffered the injury during Tottenham’s league win at Fulham last month.