The 20-year-old has revealed that he has settled well into life at the Merseyside club and has vowed to become an important player at Anfield over the coming years

Philippe Coutinho has reflected on his successful start to life at Anfield and has vowed to continue to improve and eventually become a key player for Liverpool.

The midfielder joined the Reds in January from Inter, scoring two goals and assisting a further two in his first five appearances for the club.

Despite his positive start, the Brazilian isn’t content with his early success and says he will continue to improve in the coming years.

“The manager here is still young but he’s an excellent person and a very good coach. He speaks openly to everyone and I’m pleased to be working with him,” he told the Liverpool Echo.

“The games are quicker and more physical but I like that. I am learning all the time.

“Every player wants to improve and get better and I am the same. I am still young and have so much still to learn.

“I hope to be here for many years and become a big player for Liverpool. I will continue to work hard and do my best to improve my performances and help Liverpool.”

Coutinho also added that he hopes his successful domestic performances could result in him being called up for the Brazil squad, where he already has one cap.

“It was an honour for me when I was called up the first time,” Coutinho revealed. “At the moment my aim is to play well for Liverpool and to learn and develop as much as I can.

“But I am sure if I play consistently well for Liverpool then the Brazil coach will notice me and I’ll be called up for the national team.

“The fact the next World Cup is in Brazil makes that extra special. I will try to play as well as I can in order to make the squad.

“It’s my dream to play for Brazil in the World Cup.”

The Reds’ Spanish keeper has played down talk that he is unhappy at Anfield and insists his relationship with boss Brendan Rodgers is good, with both men on the same wavelength

Pepe Reina has dismissed recent reports questioning his Anfield future and said that he is happy working under Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers.

The 30-year-old Spaniard is rumoured to be a summer target for his former club Barcelona, following reports that Rodgers is unsure about the goalkeeper’s long-term future.

However Reina, who has been sidelined for the previous two Liverpool games, insists that he is happy – on Merseyside and with his boss.

“My relationship with the manager is very good, I think we have got a lot of ideas in common. There is understanding about tactics, and the way we see football is quite similar,” he told the Daily Mirror.

“I’m very happy with our manager. He’s making sure we are learning, every day, the way to win, and that’s important.

“If we play good football, then we will be closer to winning games.”

Reina also believes that Rodgers has injected his own style of play into the side, the style of play that was typical of Swansea when he was in charge there last season.

“There’s no doubt I’m more involved more with my feet than before, but so are the team,” he added.

“The amount of passes in every game is going higher and higher compared to last season. It’s a different style and philosophy and I’m happy about it.

“I think given time, and as long as the players follow him, it will be good. It will become a great side – one which is difficult to beat.”

The England captain is expecting the minnows to try and frustrate the Three Lions, and concedes the games against the smaller nations can be difficult due to the pressure

England captain Steven Gerrard has warned his team-mates that San Marino will do anything to try and stop them from scoring on Friday.

The 32-year-old thinks games against the smaller nations are a “lose-lose” scenario as the fans expect the team to beat their opponents in a dominant fashion.

Gerrard has been on the receiving end of the fans’ frustration when England finished the first half goalless against Andorra in 2007, and the Liverpool captain says he does not want to experience that again.

“When you’re in a situation like that, the pressure grows,” Gerrard told reporters. “You’re more tense and you’ve only got 45 minutes rather than 90.

“The pressure grows, the fans get frustrated which adds to the pressure. We don’t want to experience that again.

“We know we’re on a hiding to nothing. If we don’t win the game by more than three or four goals, we’ll get no credit, only criticism.”

According to the Fifa Ranking, only Bhutan and Turks & Caicos Islands are on the same level as San Marino, but Gerrard expects them to frustrate the Three Lions.

He added: “These games are difficult, different challenges and things we’re not used to. It’s going to be attack versus defence and we’ll have the majority of the ball.

“Their tactics are to frustrate and slow it down. Even at Wembley [when England won 5-0] we had possession and were creating chances, but we didn’t have the first goal until the half-hour mark.

“We know they’ll be happy to stop us and keep the score-line down.

“They’ll slow the game down, give stupid fouls, get on to the referee, do anything they can to stop us scoring.

“So it’s about us getting that breakthrough as early as we can. This is all about the tempo of our play, our approach and our professionalism.

“It’s important we don’t get dragged down to their level and what they want, to play slow and disrupt the game. If we play close to our level we will do the job.”