Brendan Rodgers took pleasure this week from the happiness within new PFA Players' Player of the Year, Luis Suarez, as the Liverpool boss continues to shape his long-term vision for the club.

At a ceremony in London on Sunday, the Uruguayan, who has struck 30 goals for the Reds this season, was presented with the accolade - which is decided by votes from fellow professionals.

It was fitting reward for a campaign in which the No.7 has turned in a series of incessant displays, conjuring new methods for finding the target and producing hitherto unseen pieces of skill.

As Suarez prepares for a journey to Crystal Palace for Monday night's fixture, his manager explained why receiving the award five days ago meant so much to the Barclays Premier League top scorer.

Rodgers told reporters on Friday: "Congratulations to him, it was an award that was really special for him because it came from his peers.

"He has been outstanding in all my time here and obviously, in particular, this season. So it was very well deserved and I know he really respected it, coming from the players in this country. I know he's happy."

The Northern Irishman added: "To know that he's happy is important, like it is with all of our players. It's very important that we have players here that are content, happy and focused on Liverpool."

Expanding on that theme when quizzed about his plans for 2014-15 and beyond, Rodgers outlined why additional squad depth will be fundamental to ensure a fight for success on all fronts.

"For us, going forward, a sense of the future, we know we have to strengthen our squad," he said. "We're in the Champions League next year, which will be great.

"But we want to be in every competition and challenging on all fronts - that clearly means that we have to strengthen the depth of our squad."