Rodgers plays down title prospects
Liverpool manager believes Premier League race still an open contest .
Tottenham Hotspur's French goalkeeper Hugo Lloris (R) dives to save a header from Liverpool's Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez (L) during the English Premier League football match between Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield in Liverpool, northwest England on March 30, 2014. PHOTO: AFP
LIVERPOOL:
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is adamant his side are still dark horses for the Premier League title, despite going to the top of the table.
A 4-0 demolition of Tottenham at Anfield took Liverpool into top spot after Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal all dropped points the day before.
With Liverpool still to play City and Chelsea at home, their chance of ending a 24-year wait for a title success is still in their hands.
But Rodgers continues to play down the prospect.
"I don't think anyone expected us to be where we are,” he said. “In the last few seasons we have been eighth and seventh.
"There are some great teams up there with world class managers so we understand it is going to be difficult, but we just do what we can do and see where it takes us.
"There is no doubt they [City and Chelsea] understand this is going to be a real tough place to come. We love playing here.
"We respect Chelsea, they have a world class manager, top players, the squad has been put together over the last 10 years to win the Champions League and Premier League and City are one of the new superpowers in European football.
"But we feel that we can win any game, because we are a team. We may not have the best group of individuals but we have a lot of hunger as a team."
‘Supporters are appreciating us’
Liverpool racked up an eighth straight league win thanks to a Younes Kaboul own-goal, Luis Suarez's 29th of the season and second-half strikes from Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson as Spurs were almost made to suffer a repeat of the 5-0 beating they took against the Reds at White Hart Lane in December.
And Rodgers is delighted to be bringing a sense of excitement back to Anfield, where there is a growing belief this could be the year.
"The supporters are appreciating what they are seeing. You can see it was a long winter and it's been a tough period over 20-odd years and they can see something building here, not just for now but for the future."
Published in The Express Tribune, April 1st, 2014.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers is adamant his side are still dark horses for the Premier League title, despite going to the top of the table.
A 4-0 demolition of Tottenham at Anfield took Liverpool into top spot after Manchester City, Chelsea and Arsenal all dropped points the day before.
With Liverpool still to play City and Chelsea at home, their chance of ending a 24-year wait for a title success is still in their hands.
But Rodgers continues to play down the prospect.
"I don't think anyone expected us to be where we are,” he said. “In the last few seasons we have been eighth and seventh.
"There are some great teams up there with world class managers so we understand it is going to be difficult, but we just do what we can do and see where it takes us.
"There is no doubt they [City and Chelsea] understand this is going to be a real tough place to come. We love playing here.
"We respect Chelsea, they have a world class manager, top players, the squad has been put together over the last 10 years to win the Champions League and Premier League and City are one of the new superpowers in European football.
"But we feel that we can win any game, because we are a team. We may not have the best group of individuals but we have a lot of hunger as a team."
‘Supporters are appreciating us’
Liverpool racked up an eighth straight league win thanks to a Younes Kaboul own-goal, Luis Suarez's 29th of the season and second-half strikes from Philippe Coutinho and Jordan Henderson as Spurs were almost made to suffer a repeat of the 5-0 beating they took against the Reds at White Hart Lane in December.
And Rodgers is delighted to be bringing a sense of excitement back to Anfield, where there is a growing belief this could be the year.
"The supporters are appreciating what they are seeing. You can see it was a long winter and it's been a tough period over 20-odd years and they can see something building here, not just for now but for the future."
Published in The Express Tribune, April 1st, 2014.