Liverpool are destined for Champions League if we keep playing like this, says Suarez (... does that mean you'll stay, Luis?)

By John Drayton

Published: 06:51 EST, 14 January 2014 | Updated: 09:09 EST, 14 January 2014

Liverpool striker Luis Suarez is in no doubt the club are now playing football worthy of the Champions League.

Brendan Rodgers' men moved back into the top four of the Barclays Premier League, where they have spent most of the season so far, after Sunday’s 5-3 win at Stoke.

And Suarez - who scored a double at the Britannia - feels things are looking good in terms of Liverpool's prospects of staying there and going on to make a return to the Champions League, in which they have not featured in since 2009.

At the double: Luis Suarez scored twice against Stoke on Sunday to continue his rich vein of form

At the double: Luis Suarez scored twice against Stoke on Sunday to continue his rich vein of form

Unstoppable: Suarez is confident his goals can help fire Liverpool to a place in the Champions League

Unstoppable: Suarez is confident his goals can help fire Liverpool to a place in the Champions League

Last summer, Suarez claimed his contract had a clause that allowed him to leave Anfield if the club failed to qualify for Europe's premier competition.

But that proved not to be the case and he has hit the ground running since returning from a ban for biting Chelsea's Branislav Ivanovic last season.

'We know that in the last two years we haven’t demonstrated that Liverpool can play in the Champions League,' he told the club's official website.

'Now we are playing very well and we have the level to play in the Champions League. We have really good players and if we continue at this level, we can do it.'

Suarez’s double at the Britannia Stadium took him to 22 goals for the campaign - scored in only 16 league matches. 

Last time out: Liverpool's last Champions League campaign ended at the group stage in 2009

Last time out: Liverpool's last Champions League campaign ended at the group stage in 2009

The 26-year-old forward has been at the centre of various controversies during his career but, of late, the headlines about him have tended to be positive and he is being bracketed among the best players in the world.

Suarez himself says he is a changed man and that the praise he is getting is 'unbelievable' but he has also stressed that his main concern is the progress of the Liverpool team.

He said: 'When you are a child, you imagine a lot. Now many people or players speak about that and it’s unbelievable for me.

'(It is) also for Liverpool, because in the last two or three years we have not played very well and not demonstrated our level. Now we are back to that.

Well-placed: Liverpool are in fourth - keep that up and they'll qualify for the Champions League

Well-placed: Liverpool are in fourth - keep that up and they'll qualify for the Champions League

Bonding: Liverpool's players headed for London with their wives and girlfriends for a night out

Bonding: Liverpool's players headed for London with their wives and girlfriends for a night out

'You work hard for the supporters and the people.

'It’s important because the last few months were a little difficult for me. Now I’ve changed and it’s OK.'

He added: 'For my confidence, it’s very good, but the most important thing is Liverpool. That’s more important to me.

'The squad is playing very well; for the forwards, it’s easier on the pitch.

'If I score or not, it’s not important to me. It’s more important that we win the game.'