Aston Villa vs Liverpool: Brendan Rodgers warns Raheem Sterling and Jordan Ibe to be careful of the company they keep

Liverpool youngsters were caught up in a smoking row after being pictured with a shisha pipe

Jordan Ibe and Raheem Sterling (GETTY IMAGES)

Brendan Rodgers has told Raheem Sterling and Jordon Ibe to be careful who they allow to get close to them. The Liverpool manager spoke to both young players after they were pictured smoking shisha pipes in a London bar but what would have concerned him more was that Sterling was filmed in his own house inhaling nitrous oxide – popularly known as "laughing gas". The film was then sold to The Sun which posted it on their website.

“I always think it is good to trust but better not to trust,” said Rodgers, who fined neither player. “Sometimes, when you are young, you give out trust to people and when they let you down you have to rethink. It is very important they have close-knit people around them they can trust.

“I know Raheem – I would think inside out now – and Jordon and they are both good kids. They are not unprofessional, they love their work. It is just about awareness for them.”

Rodgers spent a large part of his career in youth football and agrees with the theory that this kind of stupidity is more likely to affect British players rather than their foreign counterparts.

“They seem to be involved more,” he said. “Whether the focus is on them more or whether the culture is different is hard to say but they will learn from this experience.”

Brendan Rodgers has warned his two players over the incident (PA)

One theory the Liverpool manager does not buy into is the one that young footballers are more out of control than they once were. The prevalence of camera phones means that any misdemeanour is automatically highlighted either in the press or on social media. “It is such a difficult period, not just for young players but the game in general,” he said. “I don’t think there was this exposure to all these elements a few years ago.

“There also needs to be an understanding that when you are a professional, elite sportsperson, there are things you can and cannot be doing – not just for your own welfare but because of the responsibilities you have.”

Sterling will be in the Liverpool squad that travels to Wembley for tomorrow’s FA Cup semi-final against Aston Villa, although Ibe, who played for Derby earlier in the competition, is Cup-tied.

Winning a trophy is the biggest hurdle Rodgers has yet to clear as Liverpool manager. Since Bill Shankly became manager in 1959, he and every one of his successors, bar Roy Hodgson, has won something. Rodgers said that coming close to winning, as Liverpool have with the Premier League last season and the League Cup this year, was an essential preparation to the next step.

“When you look at winners in sport, I also look at what they have lost. Often they needed to go close before they started winning,” said Rodgers, who added that whatever he won with Liverpool, nothing would be as important to him as the play-off trophy he won at Swansea. “That was the biggest game for me and always will be – even if we got to the Champions League final.”