UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE THIRD QUALIFYING ROUND, FIRST LEG:FK Rabotnicki v Liverpool

LIVERPOOL MANAGER Roy Hodgson admits there was never much chance of the likes of Steven Gerrard and Joe Cole playing in tonight’s Europa League qualifer.

Hodgson yesterday travelled to Macedonia for his first competitive match in charge of the club with a makeshift squad. Gerrard, Cole and fellow England World Cup players Jamie Carragher and Glen Johnson were among the notable absentees for the third qualifying round first leg against FK Rabotnicki having only recently returned to training.

Alberto Aquilani, Lucas, Sotirios Kyrgiakos, Martin Skrtel, Daniel Agger and David Ngog were among a handful of recognised senior players to travel.

Hodgson said: “We were never close to that because they have only been training for four days. It would have been folly to try to play 90 minutes’ football in an important competition in difficult conditions with players who have only been training for four days.

“We have pressed one or two players into service who were back one or two days earlier than that but in an ideal world we would not have used any of the players that played in the World Cup. But, frankly, we are not in a strong enough position to do that.”

Javier Mascherano and Maxi Rodriguez, who returned to training this week, were also missing while Fernando Torres, Jose Reina, Ryan Babel and Dirk Kuyt are on holiday.

Diego Cavalieri, Martin Kelly and Jay Spearing are likely to get an opportunity.