Dirk Kuyt has warned newly-crowned champions Manchester United that Liverpool “really can’t wait” for the start of next season and another crack at the Premier League title.
And the Dutchman is convinced the Anfield outfit would have finished even closer to their bitter North West rivals had the current campaign a few more weeks left to run.
United equalled Liverpool’s record of 18 league titles over the weekend after holding off a strong challenge from Rafael Benitez’s side during the run-in.
Sunday’s 2-0 win at West Bromwich Albion moved Liverpool on to 83 points, their record tally in the Premier League era and their highest total since their championship season of 1987-88.
The Anfield outfit have won nine and drawn one of their last 10 league games, scoring 31 goals and conceding only six, four of which came in the home draw against Arsenal.
And Kuyt said: “In some ways it’s a shame that the season is ending now. The performances we have shown in the last couple of months have been very good.
“We tried and did everything we could, and we’ve shown the supporters that we really can’t wait for another go at the title next season. If the season had gone on for another month then maybe we could have been even closer to United.”
Kuyt admits that Liverpool had fallen too far behind the leaders by the time they travelled to Old Trafford in March and secured an historic 4-1 victory.
“The problem was when we went into the game against United in March the gap was basically 10 points (seven points plus a game in hand),” said the Dutchman.
“We beat them and pushed them really, really hard but that was a very big gap for us to try and make up. If the gap had been closer then, the run-in might have been even more interesting but United won all their games anyway.
“We tried to put them under pressure and I think we did that, but in the end it wasn’t quite enough.
“People might look back to the defeat at Middlesbrough, but the season always has moments like that. United dropped some points, we scored some last-minute goals, United did the same, but you get what you deserve and we weren’t quite good enough.
“But we’ve shown that we can challenge for the title next season and push harder than we have done this time.”
Kuyt netted his 15th goal of the season at the weekend, ensuring his best tally since arriving at Anfield in August 2006.
And he said: “I have really enjoyed this season. I’m glad I can play an important role for the team with goals and assists. My role in the team is different than the first season I was here, I’ve been playing mostly on the right and I really enjoy it there.”
Liverpool’s win at the Hawthorns on Sunday was the 13th on their league travels this season – equalling a club record set in 1905.
“That shows the strength of the team,” said Kuyt. “We’ve done really well away from home this season. I think the only area in which we can blame ourselves is that we have drawn too many games at home. But having said that, we haven’t lost a home game in the league.
“We’re happy with how we’ve played, but at the end of the day we want to win trophies and hopefully we can take this season into the next one and build on it.
We want to take our good form into next season because we have shown that we are progressing, and we can push hard again for the title next season.”
And the Dutchman is convinced the Anfield outfit would have finished even closer to their bitter North West rivals had the current campaign a few more weeks left to run.
United equalled Liverpool’s record of 18 league titles over the weekend after holding off a strong challenge from Rafael Benitez’s side during the run-in.
Sunday’s 2-0 win at West Bromwich Albion moved Liverpool on to 83 points, their record tally in the Premier League era and their highest total since their championship season of 1987-88.
The Anfield outfit have won nine and drawn one of their last 10 league games, scoring 31 goals and conceding only six, four of which came in the home draw against Arsenal.
And Kuyt said: “In some ways it’s a shame that the season is ending now. The performances we have shown in the last couple of months have been very good.
“We tried and did everything we could, and we’ve shown the supporters that we really can’t wait for another go at the title next season. If the season had gone on for another month then maybe we could have been even closer to United.”
Kuyt admits that Liverpool had fallen too far behind the leaders by the time they travelled to Old Trafford in March and secured an historic 4-1 victory.
“The problem was when we went into the game against United in March the gap was basically 10 points (seven points plus a game in hand),” said the Dutchman.
“We beat them and pushed them really, really hard but that was a very big gap for us to try and make up. If the gap had been closer then, the run-in might have been even more interesting but United won all their games anyway.
“We tried to put them under pressure and I think we did that, but in the end it wasn’t quite enough.
“People might look back to the defeat at Middlesbrough, but the season always has moments like that. United dropped some points, we scored some last-minute goals, United did the same, but you get what you deserve and we weren’t quite good enough.
“But we’ve shown that we can challenge for the title next season and push harder than we have done this time.”
Kuyt netted his 15th goal of the season at the weekend, ensuring his best tally since arriving at Anfield in August 2006.
And he said: “I have really enjoyed this season. I’m glad I can play an important role for the team with goals and assists. My role in the team is different than the first season I was here, I’ve been playing mostly on the right and I really enjoy it there.”
Liverpool’s win at the Hawthorns on Sunday was the 13th on their league travels this season – equalling a club record set in 1905.
“That shows the strength of the team,” said Kuyt. “We’ve done really well away from home this season. I think the only area in which we can blame ourselves is that we have drawn too many games at home. But having said that, we haven’t lost a home game in the league.
“We’re happy with how we’ve played, but at the end of the day we want to win trophies and hopefully we can take this season into the next one and build on it.
We want to take our good form into next season because we have shown that we are progressing, and we can push hard again for the title next season.”
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