Watch Liverpool

• ‘They are two key players and I’m keen to know how they feel’
• Hodgson insists he is not worried by reports club could be sold

Roy Hodgson plans to meet with Steven Gerrard and Jamie Carragher this afternoon after being unveiled as the new manager of Liverpool.

“It’s not a question of what we talk about, it’s a question of me being keen to meet them,” said Hodgson when asked what issues he planned to raise with the players. “They are two key players at this club and I’m keen to know how they feel about things.”

Gerrard’s future has been a topic of much discussion in recent weeks, with reports linking him, along with other leading players such as the striker Fernando Torres and midfielder Javier Mascherano, to a move away from the club. But the club captain was quick to give Hodgson his backing today, saying he was the “right man” for Liverpool.

“They are the two key players for the club,” said Hodgson when pushed on the futures of Gerrard and Torres. “To some extent the matter is out of my hands. Im very anxious that the club keeps its best players and I’ll do everything on my power to do that.”

The club’s chairman Martin Broughton was more forthcoming. “Conversations have taken place with Gerrard and Torres and I can say we are optimistic [that they will stay],” he said, though he also confirmed that any money raised from player sales would be reinvested into new signings.

Broughton went on to say that the club had not seriously entertained the possibility of giving the manager’s job to Kenny Dalglish, who had attempted to push his own candidacy for the role. “We never saw Kenny dalglish as a candidate and we explained that to him,” said Broughton. “Kenny wanted the job for himself and we told him he wasnt a candidate.”

Hodgson said he had spoken to the team’s owners, Tom Hicks and George Gillett during a brief conference call last night, but declined to discuss the terms of his deal. “This is not the right time to talk about money,” he said. “I took the job because I wanted to be manager of liverpool and work with the players and be part of the incredible fan base and support the club has.

“In scale of club this one ranks around Inter when I took the job there [in 1995].”

Asked whether he was troubled by the possibility that the club could be sold in the near future, Hodgson insisted he was not. “It’s a very big club with a big tradition and when it gets sold it will get stronger rather than weaker,” he said. “I think I’m here on my merit and I think the club did their hoemwork before hiring me. The actual ownership is going to be above my head and is not something that bothers me.”

Roy HodgsonLiverpoolPaolo Bandiniguardian.co.uk