1| Trim the wage bill

Joe Cole
copyright: REUTERS

The first item for the incoming manager to deal with will be to offload a number of fringe players from the club's wage bill. Liverpool's latest accounts revealed a near £12m rise in player wages and the club's 37-man is difficult to justify, particularly with six players - including Joe Cole and Alberto Aquilani - set to return from loan deals this summer.

Fenway Sports Group have bankrolled significant investment in the playing staff since January 2011 but there remains work to be done to reduce the club's wage commitments while "remaining as competitive as possible".

The figure for salaries of all staff rose to £120.3m in the last twelve months. Roy Hodgson's departure, and that of associated staff, in January 2011 cost the club £8.3m and they face a comparable bill for releasing Kenny Dalglish from his contract earlier this month.

The club posted a £49.4m pre-tax loss, as well documented yesterday, compared to £19.9m for the year ending July 2010. And their absence from the Champions League will further damage their ability to compete in the transfer market.

Injury-plagued left-back Fabio Aurelio remains the only confirmed departure but midfielder Maxi Rodriguez and Dirk Kuyt have also been strongly linked with moves away from Anfield.

2| Blood young players

Jordan Ibe
Liverpool U-19 star Jordan Ibe. copyright: SKYSPORTS

FSG are keen to appoint a young manager who can build a successful squad over the next five years and a promising crop of youth players promises to provide the new boss with a solid base to build on.

John Flanagan and Jonjo Shelvey have already made the leap from the youth squad into the first team this season, while Jay Spearing and Martin Kelly re-affirmed their credentials towards the end of the campaign.

Liverpool's Under-19 stars excelled in this season's NextGen tournament to provide encouraging signs for the future of the first XI. Raheem Sterling has already made a handful of appearances from the substitute's bench this season, while Seyi Ojo Jordan Ibe and Joao Carlos Texeira are frequently discussed in hushed terms around Anfield.

And with UEFA's financial fair play rules making it harder to splash large amounts of money on older performers, the emergence of Liverpool's NextGen players looks well-timed.

"As a club we are totally behind it," Liverpool's academy director Frank McParland told BBC Sport earlier this year.

3| Keep key players at the club

Luis Suarez
Luis Suarez. copyright: REUTERS

Kenny Dalglish's departure will have unsettled a number of the Liverpool squad, with those signings made under the Scot particularly at risk under a new regime. Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing and Charlie Adam will be eager to prove their futures at Anfield after all three had disappointing starts to life at Anfield.

But Liverpool fans will be most concerned with Luis Suarez's commitment to the club after recent comments attributed to the striker appeared in the Spanish press.

"I hope to play in Spain in the future, because together with the English and Italian leagues, they are the best in the world and any player would dream of playing there," said the Liverpool striker.

"If you take notice of all the rumours you read in the papers, you go crazy. My head is very relaxed, I have a contract with Liverpool and I am very happy."