Brendan Rodgers has provided further news on the club's January transfer ambitions and the condition of defender Glen Johnson, plus paid a special tribute to birthday boy Luis Suarez.

With seven days remaining to purchase new recruits this month, the Northern Irishman outlined his plans; the boss also expanded on the fitness of the Reds' No.2, who has been ruled out indefinitely.

As he celebrates his 27th birthday, Barclays Premier League top scorer Suarez was the subject of more praise from his manager, who discussed his side's next two fixtures in a chat with radio station talkSPORT too.

Read on for the highlights of Rodgers' conversation on Friday morning...

On transfers...

The club has been working hard on a number of targets. I know the club has been working very hard to get players in. I'll leave that to them and see how they can get on. This is a brilliant club and we try to get players in that fit for the club for now. We need players that can come in now and help us. January is a very difficult market. The team has improved over the last year, so it's hard to bring in players in this window that can improve the team. I'd rather wait and look at our young players than just bring in one or two squad players.

On Bournemouth...

The game against Bournemouth will be a difficult game. Eddie Howe is a terrific young manager at a club that he knows well. He has developed a team that play a really good style of football, 4-3-3 and they pass the ball with confidence in how they play. After that, we've got another big game on the Tuesday night.

On Everton...

The derby games are brilliant, they are really intense - I've been involved in a few of them now. We're really looking forward to playing at Anfield. It's an opportunity for us to go four points ahead of Everton. There are a few teams fighting to get into the top four; it gives us an opportunity to make a little bit of a gap. It's a big game. The last game was really entertaining - it was interesting that both managers prefer to impose on their opponents with a possession game. They are very tense but you've got to try to stay calm and composed. Our record at Anfield over the last year has been excellent so we hope that, along with the supporters who make a huge difference for us, we can pull through and get another vital win.

On Luis Suarez...

It's fantastic to work with a player that has the self-motivation and commitment to his work. He's a top talent but I'm very privileged to see how hard he works every day. He's a terrific player; his mentality and desire is the big attribute and facet to his game that allows him to be out there every day and every game.

On Glen Johnson's injury...

Glen has just been carrying a few niggles throughout the season. In fairness, he has put himself out there for the team and put himself on the training ground. He just felt that it has impinged on his performance level to the point where he is nowhere near 100 per cent. He has just had a couple of problems that have really impinged on his physicality. That's a big part of Glen's game - his running ability, his speed running up and down. He has been unable to be anywhere near his best. We felt that he needs a bit of time out to see if we can make it better and give him a recovery period that allows him to come back and get somewhere near the level that everyone has seen him play at. He's a great guy; since I've come into the club, he has put himself out every day to train and in games. He has played a lot of this season with injury. We're hopefully trying to clear that up.