The Anfield manager compares the new Red Devils boss’s task in following Sir Alex Ferguson to his own in succeeding Kenny Dalglish and offers advice to his fellow coach

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has implored David Moyes to be “strong” in his new role at Manchester United and believes that it will take him time to assert himself given the length and success of Sir Alex Ferguson’s reign before him.

The Everton boss is set to assume the reigns at Old Trafford at the end of the season, taking over from Sir Alex as the veteran manager brings an end to his 26-year stay at the club.

Rodgers compares the task that Moyes faces in following the club legend to that which faced him when he took control following Kenny Dalglish’s departure, emphasising that, as a manager, you cannot be daunted by your role.

“You have to respect the great past and, when I came in after Kenny Dalglish, I said it was a competition I could never win! This is a guy who was voted the greatest player in the club’s history and has done so many great things on and off the pitch, so he rightly gets that iconic ­status,” he told reporters.

“But I wasn’t daunted by the task of replacing a club legend. I didn’t become a manager at 35 because I was shy. I arrived here with 20 years of work – it wasn’t just presented to me. Kenny was an incredible man and David going in after Sir Alex Ferguson will be the same.

“David will come in and look to impose his ­personality and it will take time because of the number of years his predecessor was there. But you have got to be strong enough to come in and at least know at the end of it all you’ve done it the way you wanted to do it.”

Rodgers did, however, note that Ferguson was not entirely successful in the early years of his reign, suggesting that the board should afford Moyes the same amount of leniency over the next few years.

“Fergie was given great support in those early years,” he observed. “I’ve seen some statistics and in the first six years he won 43 per cent of the games.

“That is a great mark of the people and the board and that’s why I have great respect for the board here, because they really want to build something.”

The Udinese front man has bagged 100 goals in four years to put to shame stars such as Falcao, Cavani, Ibrahimovic and Van Persie

Good things come in small packages, while many get better with age. Antonio Di Natale has been likened to a fine wine, but the Udinese centre-forward hardly needs superlatives. Such is his goalscoring record in recent times, he can simply be described as one of the best strikers in football.

Despite earning his wage at a provincial club whose attacking phases come at less frequent intervals than some of the sport’s bigger-name outfits, Di Natale has racked up a phenomenal 100 goals in the last four league seasons to leave some of football’s most talked-about front men in his shadow. After netting 29 goals in 2009-10, he earned a second successive Capocannoniere crown with 28 more the following year. Last season’s 23 and this term’s 20 have ensured that his consistency in front of goal has helped Udinese to punch above their weight a while longer.

The numbers are extraordinary. Only Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo – with 161 and 145 goals respectively – can boast better goal tallies over the same period. The Argentine has bagged totals of 34, 31, 50 and 46 in the last four seasons with Barcelona, while Real Madrid’s Ronaldo has picked up 26, 40, 46 and 33 in the corresponding campaigns. The pair’s records are frankly untouchable, especially given the relative power of their two clubs compared to the rest of La Liga, and Di Natale’s relative handicap given his playing surroundings make his chalking up four consecutive 20-goal campaigns even more noteworthy. Alongside Messi and Ronaldo, he is the only player in a top European league with such a record.

In Serie A, that feat had not been achieved in 51 years since Jose Altafini last recorded the same number of 20-goal seasons. Before him, Istvan Nyers, Gunnar Nordahl (with seven successive seasons) and Giuseppe Meazza (five seasons) had also reached the same mark. But not only is Di Natale only the fifth player to score so consistently in Italy, he is also outscoring the current game’s big names at an alarming rate.

Radamel Falcao, who cost Atletico Madrid €47 million is not incredibly far behind, but he does trail Di Natale. Over his spells with Porto and Atleti he has chalked up 91 goals in the league. Even Edinson Cavani, who has been on fire in his three seasons with Napoli, sees his average drop thanks to his final season with Palermo when he scored 13 times. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – between Barcelona, Milan and Paris Saint-Germain – has scored 15 fewer goals than Di Natale, while Robin van Persie has netted 82, thanks in part to an injury-hit 2009-10 season at Arsenal during which he struck just nine times

The Dutchman’s ratio for that season is still impressive given he only played 16 times, but even then it doesn’t match that of Udinese’s finest. Further down the list are star names such as Wayne Rooney (76), Mario Gomez (75) and Robert Lewandowski (71). Bigger gaps still can be found between the Italy striker’s record and those of Sergio Aguero (66), Carlos Tevez (58) and Francesco Totti (49).

It would be harsh, however, to try to compare full European records with that of Raul, with the one-time Real Madrid captain having shared his recent goalscoring feats between Schalke and Al Sadd. The Spaniard has scored 42 in four years, including just nine in Qatar. The 2009-10 season was when things started to tail off for the great number seven, but the opposite can be said of Di Natale. At 35, he shows no sign of slowing down. We can only hope he keeps it up for some time yet.

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The Reds boss concedes that it has been a difficult period for the Slovakia international defender but is adamant that there are no plans to sell him on at the end of the season

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers has denied that he is set to sell Martin Skrtel in the summer.

The 28-year-old defender has started just two Premier League games since the turn of the year after losing his place in the starting XI to Jamie Carragher but, with the veteran set to retire in the summer and Sebastian Coates dramatically out of favour, the Reds boss insists that the Slovakian will remain involved.

“It has been unfortunate for Martin but he has been a loyal member of the squad and is still very much part of my plans here,” Rodgers told the Liverpool Echo.

“He’s happy here, he’s not in any rush to leave but players want to play. I haven’t had any concerns with Martin at all, his attitude has been first class. He is very much a part of what we are trying to do here.”

Regarding Carragher usurping the Slovakian’s place since January, Rodgers was quick to praise the former England international’s form and organisational skills rather than downplay Skrtel’s.

“We made the change a few months back and I think Jamie Carragher has arguably been one of the best defenders in the league,” the Northern Irishman added.

“It has been difficult for [Skrtel] and I’ve acknowledged and recognised that. It wasn’t so much through his form, it was just I felt we needed more of an organiser and a leader.

“We are trying to build up a group with a winning mentality and he’s got a winning mentality. He is certainly a player we want to keep and we have no ideas of selling him.”