Tuesday, 1st January, 2013
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard believes the club have much to be positive about as they enter 2013.
The Merseyside giants, who were ranked as the number 1 club in Europe by UEFA as recently as 2009, currently find themselves sitting ninth in the Premier League after 20 games, behind the likes of Stoke City, West Brom and Everton, all sides operating on much smaller budgets.
But Gerrard is convinced that new manager Brendan Rodgers has the club on the right track and the 32-year-old midfielder has expressed his genuine excitement about the second half of the season.
"Going into the New Year, there’s plenty to be positive about", he wrote in Liverpool’s matchday programme ahead of tomorrow’s clash against Sunderland.
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"I’m excited about this Liverpool team. I genuinely believe we are moving in the right direction.
"There will be a few blips along the way like the Villa defeat, because we are a very young squad.
"But clubs are defined by how they react to adversity and I know this group shares plenty of character and togetherness. As a collective, we will learn and we will get better."
And the England star identified Liverpool’s Premier League standing as an area which certainly needs attention, although he did emphasise that the Reds remain in the FA Cup and the Europa League.
"The league position needs to be improved and that needs to be our focus. But we’ve got games in two major cup competitions to look forward to in the second half of the season as well."
Last season Liverpool finished eighth under Kenny Dalglish, while they won the League Cup and also reached the final of the FA Cup.
It is already looking a tough ask for Rodgers to better the man who was sacked for underachievement during the summer, but Gerrard will no doubt be working hard to make sure he does.
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