BRENDAN RODGERS has vowed: I won’t bankrupt Liverpool for a fast-track to glory.
And in a double warning to fans after a quick-fix, he told any new would-be Kop idols the days of using the club to line their pockets are long gone.
The Anfield gaffer has splashed £25million to bring Fabio Borini and Joe Allen to Merseyside, with Cristian Tello and Nuri Sahin set to follow from Barcelona and Real Madrid.
But any signings will not pick up mega-bucks, long-term contracts.
Previous owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett left Liverpool within days of going bust.
And the new boss reckons the fiasco at Rangers, which has seen them demoted to Division Three in Scotland, sends a message to everyone.
Rodgers said: “This is Liverpool Football Club and it’s incredible to think it came close to bankruptcy. You may think it’ll never happen to your club but who’d have thought it could to a team like Rangers?
“But if football continues to pay the wages some clubs do, you will be asking for it.
“If you believe it can’t happen, well it can, maybe not now but certainly later. Look at Rangers’ history. That is a warning for everyone.”
Liverpool have paid huge wages to the likes of Alberto Aquilani, Milan Jovanovic and Maxi Rodriguez.
Although the trio have been moved on — with Aquilani’s move to Fiorentina saving the club £6.5m a year — the problem itself remains.
Yet Rodgers, whose league season starts at West Brom, will not be adding to it.
He said: “In professional and social life, I like to get value, that’s just my nature and my upbringing.
“I won’t pay anything at all costs. If there is a player who can make a difference, we’ll do all we can to get him. What I’m not prepared to do is waste time, money and effort for anyone who won’t add value. I prefer the hungry player, one who wants to succeed.
“They will earn good money — and they will get their value and worth if they perform.”
Rodgers is prepared to scour the lower leagues for an uncut diamond.
He added: “There’s sometimes a snobbery towards players at a lesser club, an ignorance.
“If you look at our squad, there aren’t too many who have dropped from heaven.
“A lot have come through lower clubs, made their way and are now making their name at Liverpool.
“The club’s history is about hungry players, coming from the lower leagues and working their way up.
“Talent aligned with hard work takes you a long way. I find it difficult to work with players who don’t share and match that.”