WITH hope afresh and the 6-1 at Stoke forgotten — or at least pushed to the back of the mind — Liverpool go into a new season with plenty of changes on and off the field.

While there has been a shake-up of the first team coaching staff this didn’t extend to the manager as some thought it might and Brendan Rodgers remains at the helm.

Many believed that Jurgen Klopp would take over after parting ways with Borussia Dortmund at the end of last season, but the German remains on sabbatical — a status reserved for only the most sought after managers who no-one dares describe as unemployed.

Rodgers, along with new coaches Sean O’Driscoll and Gary McAllister, will have spent pre-season etching tactical plans onto the minds of the players, whose number include several new signings and returning loanees.

Liverpool operated early in the transfer market, signing Brazilian attacker Roberto Firmino from Bundesliga side Hoffenheim, right-back Nathaniel Clyne from Southampton who’ll replace Glen Johnson, and back-up goalkeeper Adam Bogdan who was a free agent after leaving Bolton.

They also secured the services of stalwart utility player James Milner on a free transfer, after his contract at Manchester City came to an end.

Young Englishmen Danny Ings and Joe Gomez also arrived at the club; the latter an exciting defensive prospect from Charlton who’s likely to get games at full-back before moving into central defence.

Gomez has already impressed in pre-season, and could well turn out to be one of the summer’s best signings.

Ings offers another option up front, and is considered an upgrade on previous back-up strikers Iago Aspas, Rickie Lambert and Fabio Borini.

And speaking of options up front, the club recently spent a considerable amount of money on another forward, Christian Benteke, who becomes the second most expensive signing in the club’s history.

It’s hoped that the Congo-born Belgian international will offer a quality alternative to Daniel Sturridge, whose injury troubles last season left Liverpool with problems in the striking department.

There are plenty of new faces at the club, but how will they all fit in?

And will they increase Liverpool’s chances of finishing in the top four?

In one of his pre-season press conferences Brendan Rodgers spoke of “dangerous possession.” He sounded a lot like the Brendan Rodgers we heard when he first arrived at the club from Swansea, but this time there’s more emphasis on a final product, rather than simply winning the battle for possession.

While there will be a belief in a general game plan driven by this philosophy, it’s likely that there will be a few systems used to carry it out.

During his time at Liverpool, Rodgers has dabbled with numerous formations but the most popular have been the diamond (which led to the 2nd place finish in 2013-14), variations of a 4-3-3, and the 3-4-2-1 which was used during the winning streak last season.

Liverpool’s signings this season would suit a diamond, and the formation has already been trialled in pre-season.

Perhaps one position where they fall down would be that of a specialist defensive midfielder or holding player, which they’ve lacked since the departure of Javier Mascherano, despite glimpses of quality from Lucas Leiva.

The graphic shows a possible line-up using the diamond, and it’s one where several players could alternate positions, such is their versatility.

Emre Can could move from defence to the aforementioned troublesome holding role.

Thanks to the Europa League, the club will have two games a week more often than not, so there should be chances for many of the squad players to impress.

It could also be an opportunity to blood academy players such as Jordan Rossiter, Sheyi Ojo and Cameron Brannagan, who will be hoping to experience first team football sooner rather than later.

The second graphic (below)shows the 4-3-3 formation which contains a line-up consisting of squad players who could feasibly be used in the cups.

The squad depth Liverpool have this season, coupled with the amount of money spent on players during the past two summers, means there will be pressure from the outset to get results.

A repeat of last season may not be tolerated by the club’s owners, who have shown faith in the manager by giving him the money to sign the players he wants.

If it goes wrong, it will be Rodgers’s name in the spotlight, and not some enigmatic transfer committee.

The eccentric shadow of Jurgen Klopp will be lurking around the corner of any manager of a high-profile club who happens to struggle this season, but Liverpool will hope that this never becomes an issue.

There is a renewed optimism amongst the squad and a renewed faith in the philosophy amongst the staff.

If Rodgers can construct the component parts into a well oiled machine then they could find themselves back in one of those all-important Champions League places.