Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers has finally explained why he allowed Andy Carroll to be sold to West Ham.

There was much speculation the striker would return to the merseyside club in the summer as transfer negotiations with the Hammers dragged on.

But now Rodgers has made it clear that Carroll was always going to be allowed to leave to allow Luis Suarez to flourish.

He said:  “When you play with a big target man it is hard not to make that your focal point of the team, so everything is set up around him.

“Sometimes you get sucked into doing it more direct and, with my history as a coach, I don’t work that way.

“Removing that means that you can get players in behind and you will connect 10 more players into making the chances which serve him best.

“That is what happens for Luis. He can drift off the back line, he spins on the shoulder, he has that freedom.

“When you look at the goals he has scored in my time, there haven’t been too many have been from whipped in crosses.

“To be fair, Andy is brilliant at that, it was a style which brought out his qualities.”