The veteran centre-back puts the Reds’ lightning-fast Premier League start down to the togetherness instilled by manager Brendan Rodgers and is targeting trophies

Kolo Toure sees Liverpool’s electric start to the Premier League campaign as the product of team spirit.

The Reds have won their first three league matches, including a 1-0 victory over rivals Manchester United at Anfield, to occupy the top spot on the table before the international break

And the summer signing from Manchester City ascribes the collective ethic engendered by Brendan Rodgers as the power behind their success.

“It’s key,” Toure told the club’s official website. “With team spirit, you can win anything. Individuals are very important but team spirit is the key – it is the most important thing.

“Individuals can win you one game but, to win trophies or be champions, it is [down to] a group of players. If you want to be successful, you need to work as a team. That is really, really important because we are a group of players and we have the same target – to win trophies and do as well as we can.”

Though he missed out on the Reds’ defeat of the Red Devils through injury, Toure popped up on the touchline to congratulate his team-mates at full-time and spoke further of the need to support the side both on and off the pitch.

“The lads played a great game,” he enthused. “I was off the pitch and really wanted to help them but I couldn’t.

“When you don’t play, you need to support the team and your team-mates need to feel that you are behind them fully.

“[Martin] Skrtel had a fantastic game and we worked as a team really, really well. That is great for the team spirit of the group.”

Reds owner John W Henry is confident that things are moving in the right direction with regard to an expansion of the Premier League leaders’ famous Anfield home

Liverpool owner John Henry says that the club are making “good progress” in their attempts to revamp Anfield.

The American has ambitious plans for the current Premier League leaders as the Reds try to generate more matchday revenue by increasing the capacity of Anfield to around 60,000.

The area surrounding Anfield is also set to be regenerated as part of a partnership between the Merseyside club, Liverpool City Council and Your Housing Group.

“We are making good progress,” Henry told The Liverpool Echo. “There are a lot of different groups working very well together and that’s the key to a big project like this happening, when everybody is on the same page. When everybody is on the same page, we move forward.

“I think we were clear at one point that what made financial sense was going in this direction and this is the direction that makes financial sense for the club for a long time. Obstacles are being overcome.”

Previous owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett had been planning to build a new stadium at Stanley Park, while a groundshare with rivals Everton has also been mooted as Liverpool look to ensure their future income.

“The previous regime were talking about going out and borrowing an enormous amount of money to build an enormous new facility,” Henry added. “That’s not what we’re doing.

“One of their problems was that they weren’t able to get financing. When this happens, financing won’t be the problem. Again, we just need certainty with regard to these properties and the number of properties that are in question keeps getting reduced.

“The City Council is doing everything they can and that’s all we can ask. Not just the city council but Your Housing and the regeneration. Everyone associated with this – we are all on the same page.”

Manchester City’s Samir Nasri was also on target, and we run though the goals from the midweek World Cup qualifiers

England may have fired blanks in Ukraine, but the stars of the Premier League were out in force during the latest round of World Cup qualifiers.

Last season’s golden boot winner Robin van Persie was on target twice as Netherlands dispatched Andorra 2-0, while Arsenal’s Per Mertesacker – and record signing Mesut Ozil – both found the net in Germany’s victory over the Faroe Islands.

To watch all these goals and more, click the video at the top of the article.