The manager says he isn’t surprised by his side’s swift improvement and claims parts of his team’s style of play has been “exceptional” as they keep pace with the title contenders

Brendan Rodgers says Liverpool have progressed quicker than he anticipated this season.

With 11 Premier League games remaining, Liverpool sit four points behind leaders Chelsea and are unbeaten in the league in 2014.

The 41-year-old also revealed he had initially aimed for the club to be competing for a top-four place next season, as opposed to the current campaign.

However, when asked if he thought Liverpool had progressed further than he expected, Rodgers told talkSPORT: “Yes, I feel they are.

“When I spoke to the owners when I decided to come to Liverpool, I certainly wanted to be challenging for the Champions League by my third year at the club.

“But I haven’t been surprised by the players because I’ve seen how much they put into their game and I know the quality we have.”

Having seen his side concede nine goals in their last six matches in all competitions, Rodgers admits Liverpool still need to improve.

“I think we’ve probably moved ahead of where I thought we would be this season, some of our play has been exceptional, but there are still areas of the team that I feel we need to improve on,” said Rodgers.

“It’s been a wonderful season, to be in our position with 11 games to go is fantastic, but there’s still a lot of work to do.”