Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has told his players to 'man up' as they battle with a lack of strikers.

Liverpool's failure to bring in extra bodies during the transfer window has left them with a chronic shortage - especially up front, where Luis Suarez is the Reds' only recognised striker.

Fabio Borini, 21, is the only other senior player who could step into the Suarez role.

Rodgers explained: "We're in a position where we've got 25 games minimum between now and January, so we're going to be stretched to the limit.

"I've spoken to the players and if they get little niggles, they have to man up. We have to come together and be strong.

"January is a difficult month to do business.

"Sometimes it's very difficult to get the best players in. If a team is doing well, they are not so keen to lose a squad player and they want to keep all their good players.

"There's no point spending millions if they can't fit the profile of my players.

"Hopefully our scouting team will find the targets that will fit into the way we are going to play going forward.

"Between now and then we have to be creative because of the limited number of players we have up front. I'm going to have to find different solutions."