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Cape Town - Liverpool legend John Barnes has urged the club to open their wallet and strengthen their squad if they are to come back stronger next season.
Liverpool suffered a 3-1 defeat at the hands of Sevilla in the Europa League final on Wednesday night, adding to their eighth place finish in Premier League this season.
"I don't think that Liverpool are at a point now where we can afford to turn quality down even if it's not needed, because I think we need to get quality in," Barnes told Omnisport.
"So for example we may end up with an attacking midfield player, but if one of the better attacking midfield players comes up we are going to get him.
"Obviously we're looking at the defensive situations, however, the defence has done OK in the last couple of weeks, so I just think it's in terms of getting numbers in and quality wherever you can actually find it.
"They're going to have to improve in the league, that's the most important thing, because if you look at where we are in the league that’s not where we want to be.
"But for that to happen we need to improve the squad. We've got [Joel] Matip coming in so I think the most important thing is the acquisitions that can be made before the start of the season."
The Reds have been linked with a move for Bayern's Mario Gotze, and Barnes insists the midfielder would, without a doubt, be a great addition to Jurgen Klopp's team.
"Anybody would look at Gotze. I mean he would go to Real Madrid and other clubs as well," added the former Newcastle United winger.
"As I said, if players of his ilk become available and there's a possibility of getting them, you may say we need a player in a different position more urgently but if you can get a player like that we should definitely do that."
The former England international is also looking forward to seeing what the German manager will do with the team next season, following their success in the previous rounds of the Europa League, including a dramatic 4-3 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the semi-finals.
"I'm looking forward to [next season], the harmony is good, the fans are behind him - even when we haven't played well the fans have supported him, and with that support you saw us come back against Dortmund.
"Now the next step is to improve the squad, get better players and have that harmony of the fans being behind the team who are capable for challenging for a top four position and are capable of going deep into competitions, that is a recipe for a success."
