John Aldridge believes Liverpool's interest in Kenwyne Jones during the January transfer window was a smokescreen.

With the Reds in financial difficulty because of the debt placed on the club by George Gillett and Tom Hicks, the former Liverpool striker believes it's time for the duo to pack their bags and clear off.

Aldo said: "There has been a real concern about Liverpool's finances for a long time but it has got to the stage now where the vast majority of supporters have discovered how bad our finances are.

"People can see how deep the debt is and we are not interested in smokescreens; it doesn't take a genius to work out that Liverpool are on the verge of real trouble.

"You could see that in the last transfer window; the pursuit of Kenwyne Jones was a smokescreen; we didn't have the money to buy him outright and there was never any chance of him coming on loan.

"We sold two players in Andriy Voronin and Andrea Dossena for good money but it wasn't reinvested and everyone knows where the cash from those deals will have gone.

"There was talk of Milan Jovanovic signing his pre-contract earlier this week but don't for a moment think that is going to be a significant outlay; he'd be a free transfer, not the type that balances the books.

"Though it is encouraging to hear that moves are afoot to shrink the debt, it is still not an ideal situation even though it could eventually lead to the club being sold.

"And the sooner that happens, the better for everyone. Tom Hicks and George Gillett have to go and that feeling is shared by a lot of the former players who I talk to.

"I obviously can't speak for all of them but my own view is that something desperately needs to change, as we can't continue like this."