Liverpool Council leader Warren Bradley revealed that LFC managing director Christian Purslow had told the council the club hoped to make progress on the new ground in the first quarter of 2010.

Cllr Bradley also revealed, in an exclusive interview, that the local authority will hold high level talks with Everton FC about its own plans for a new ground on Monday, January 11.

EFC were forced back to the drawing board after the Government rejected a planned to move to Kirkby alongside Tesco in a £400m development.

Everton confirmed the meeting and said the club was hoping to set up a working party with senior officials and Cllr Bradley to move forward its hunt for a new home.

Liverpool council has been keen to keep the Blues within the city boundaries, whether at a new site or a revamped Goodison.

Cllr Bradley said: “We have got a meeting with Everton Football Club where we will put all our cards on the table. I will be there as will be council chief executive Colin Hilton and executive director of regeneration John Kelly.

“We want to make sure that we can facilitate things for Everton FC.

“They want to discuss Bellefield and the stadium. We fully understand they need some commercial support for a stadium.”

The council and EFC have clashed over the club’s desire to build homes on its former training ground Bellefield.

In January 2009 the club lost an appeal against the council’s decision to reject plans to build 74 homes on the site in West Derby.

Cllr Bradley said it was pleasing to see that LFC was on the brink of making a start with its 60,000 seater ground on Stanley Park.

The lack of progress on the £400m stadium is one of the main sources of discontent among fans with the ownership of Americans Tom Hicks and George Gillett.

Cllr Bradley said: “Liverpool FC’s Christian Purslow has told us that the club in the first quarter of next year should be able to move forward with the stadium.

“We have told them it’s time to move on now, it’s gone on too long.

“I honestly believe Christian Purslow has been open and honest with us. Hopefully in the first quarter of next year we will see some movement. Without doubt it’s not before time.”

Earlier this month the ECHO revealed how Mr Purslow was forced to open up the club’s finances to the England 2018 team in order to persuade officials to include Liverpool as a host city for the country’s bid to host the World Cup.

The Reds had to prove to FA bid bosses that it could deliver a new stadium and would be able to raise the cash.

Mr Purslow was forced to make the disclosures in front of Everton chief executive Robert Elstone as they made the final case for Liver-pool to be included in England’s World Cup bid.

Today a spokesman for Liverpool FC said: “Construction of the stadium will begin when the current contraction in the banking industry ends and the global financial markets re-establish their equilibrium.”