Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Gerrard: Trio Will Make Big Difference

Steven Gerrard believes the return of Olympic trio Javier Mascherano, Lucas and Ryan Babel will have a massive impact on Liverpool's football.

The skipper accepts that while results have been excellent, the club's early season performances could have been better.

However, with three of the Premier League's most talented players now back at Melwood, Gerrard expects the Reds to step up a gear.

He said: "You can see the squad is now starting to look stronger, with the return of Ryan, Javier and Lucas. The manager has a lot more options now.

"There is still some time in the transfer window and I think in that time you will start to see our squad get to full strength.

"I think there will be another arrival before the deadline.

"The manager's obviously got his eye on two or three different players and I think it would help us if another new face came in."

Next up for the Reds is the return leg of our Champions League third qualifying round tie against Liege.

While some took qualification for granted when the draw was made, a hard-fought stalemate in Belgium means Gerrard and co still have much to do as the sides head for Anfield.

He said: "Sometimes you need the kick up the backside similar to the one we had against Liege. You don't want to go into the season a little bit complacent, and no one could argue against the fact Liege were the better team on the night.

"It was certainly a wake-up call for us, and the best thing about it was that we didn't get beat.

"We're still in the tie and know that at Anfield we will play a lot better. Liege will also find it more difficult."

Gerrard goes into the game on the back of yet more late heroics in the 2-1 victory over Middlesbrough on Saturday.

He hopes the character displayed to overturn a 1-0 deficit in the dying moments is a sign of things to come in 2008-09.

"Last season we only lost once at home but had too many draws, which isn't good enough," he said. "You need your home form to be immaculate.

"We have got maximum points from our two games and still haven't played anywhere near the level we are capable of. We know we can improve but we kept going until the end against Middlesbrough and showed great character."

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