Adam: Top four the aim for Liverpool

Liverpool midfielder Charlie Adam believes the club should make fourth place their minimum goal for the coming Barclays Premier League season.

The Scotsman endured a frustrating season last term as he only made 28 appearances and was plagued by injuries throughout the campaign. Although he contributed six assists in the Premier League, he failed to replicate his form at Blackpool in the 2011/12 season that had earned him a number of plaudits and convinced former manager Kenny Dalglish to sign him.

He also revealed recently that he was frustrated with the side's eighth-placed finish last term and has set a new target for the the upcoming season. The Scotland international believes that the squad is good enough to be playing in the Champions League and hopes that his team-mates put up a much better showing under new manager Brendan Rodgers in the new campaign.

"We should be challenging for the Champions League, no doubt about that," the Scot told Liverpoolfc.com in Boston. "This club deserves to be where it is, but you don't get where you are just because of the name. You get there because of hard work and a bit of luck.

"You set your standards high and we've got a good group of players. People saw that last season and at times we were unlucky.

"We need to set our standards as high as we can, participate in every tournament we are in and try to win everything available to us."

A knee injury back in March had ended Adam's first season for the Reds. But he has now recovered and is eager to take his place in the starting XI while on Liverpool's tour of the United States.

"I'm fine now. I was back training in the last week of the season basically and I had four weeks' break in the summer. I'm back now and I've joined in every session since the lads have been back.

"It's good to get going again because the last couple of months were frustrating but it's time to reflect on what you have done and it's good to be back in the groove again.

"For me it's about getting fit again and trying to get some minutes back on the pitch.

"Missing a couple of months at the end of the season was difficult so getting back on the pitch is probably the biggest thing for me, and hopefully showing the new manager what I can do."

Liverpool face Toronto FC on Saturday in what will be Rodgers' first official game in charge of the club. Adam called on the squad to swiftly adapt to the ex-Swansea boss' style of play in the coming weeks so that they will be fully prepared for the new season.

"The club has got a good manager who wants to get us to go and play and pass and press the ball," he said of Rodgers.

"The new manager coming in is going to want to play the way he wants to play, and the lads have got to adapt to that, try to show why they want to be at this club, play as well as they can, and train as hard as they can.

"We're looking forward to the start of the season."