Boss: Why Jordan change proved key

The midfielder claimed the assist for Adam Lallana's opener on the stroke of half-time, executing a slick one-two with his England colleague to open up the visiting defence and allow the Reds' summer signing from Southampton to net his first for the club.

Saido Berahino drew West Brom level shortly after the re-start when he won and converted a penalty; however, Henderson had the decisive say, steering home a winner from Raheem Sterling's cut back in front of the Kop.

"We flipped the midfield triangle about and played with Stevie controlling and Jordan just in advance of that," Rodgers told his post-match press conference, elaborating on the decision to adjust his midfield triumvirate. "It gave him more licence to go into the corridor.

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"He's the one player in the country that can really dominate a game without the ball due to his running capacity. He has great physicality in the game and today was about trying to get him forward that bit more and encouraging him to go [forward].

"That forward run allows him to offer the combination with Adam for the first goal, and for the second goal he arrived in the box and finished really, really well.

"It was a big performance from him today."

Rodgers hinted that Liverpool fans may become accustomed to seeing Henderson operating further forward, revealing the vice-captain has been encouraged to join attacking moves on a more frequent basis.

"His confidence level is very good," the manager continued. "He is a player who has wonderful physical capacity to run. His size surprises a lot of people, he's got great running ability. He's got lovely technique on the ball.

"He's playing in a part of the team's structure where he understands his lines of pass and his role within the team. He knows his role is to create goals and score goals.

"He's a wonderful young man to work with and I was delighted for him because it's something we've been encouraging him to do - to arrive into the box more. He did that for the two goals, combining on the edge of the box for the first and then getting his finish for the second."

Rodgers also had glowing words of praise for Lallana, who capped another impressive run out with a fine goal to break the deadlock.

The 26-year-old displayed nimble footwork to open up space and enable him to successfully complete a one-two with Henderson on the edge of the box, carving open the West Brom defence.

Then faced with Ben Foster, Lallana produced a finish the move deserved.

Rodgers said: "It was a wonderful goal. I thought he was very, very good today and his intensity and work rate in the team was exceptional. He showed his quality.

"You saw the supporters' reaction to him, I think they really appreciate what he is trying to give the team.

"I'm delighted for him. He's a wonderful, technically-gifted player and works very, very hard. He scored a wonderful goal, which is what we needed."

Rodgers opted to hand Rickie Lambert a Barclays Premier League starting debut in Saturday's encounter, bringing the local lad into the starting XI to replace Mario Balotelli.

Lambert went close on numerous occasions as he continued his search for a first goal in Liverpool red - and the boss declared himself pleased with the No.9's efforts on the day.

"Rickie is desperate to score for Liverpool," said the Northern Irishman. "He'll probably be disappointed with one or two of the opportunities he had today.

"But I know with Rickie that I have a real honest professional who wants to die for Liverpool. He wants to give everything he has for the club and there will be times this year when we'll need that.

"Rickie's been working really well in training and he deserves his opportunity to play."

The victory was Liverpool's first in the Premier League since they put Tottenham Hotspur to the sword with a 3-0 demolition at White Hart Lane in late August.

Following the rout over Mauricio Pochettino's side, the Reds slipped to consecutive defeats against Aston Villa and West Ham United, before Phil Jagielka's late thunderbolt denied them three points against Everton last Saturday.

Rodgers, therefore, acknowledged the importance of a return to winning ways, praising the character and resilience of his side, who refused to allow their heads to drop when Berahino levelled proceedings in the game.

However, he expects to see his team's overall performance levels improve over the coming weeks, as injured players return and the club's summer recruits continue to adapt to their new surroundings.

"Performance-wise we've still got a way to go," said Rodgers. "The speed of our game, the movement and the intensity in our game still needs developing and improving.

"But I'd rather have that now and then do what we've done over the last two seasons - get better and better as the season goes on. But whilst you're searching for that, it's important you find a way to win.

"There's a lot of young players here and new players who have come in who are still finding out about working at a big club.

"What you have to do is find a way to win and today we did that. That was against a team who came to here with big confidence having won 4-0 comfortably last week and winning 1-0 in their last away game at Tottenham.

"This group are very honest and these players are full of character. That's what gives me hope as a manager - even though we're in a moment where we're not at our footballing best yet, but I know the character and depth of honesty in this team. As we work more together, the quality in our game and the performance will improve."