Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Steven Gerrard Calls On Team To Beat 'Wounded' Arsenal In Top Three Chase

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard says a result against a ‘wounded’ Arsenal on Wednesday night would help drive Liverpool to a top three finish and that the Merseyside club are treating every match as if it were a ‘cup final.’

Speaking to former Liverpool striker Stan Collymore and Mark Saggers on Talksport radio station, Gerrard was asked if a win against third place Arsenal on Wednesday night could spur Liverpool on to a top three finish.

“I’m sure Arsenal will be a bit of a wounded animal on Wednesday night,” said Gerrard. “But we’ve certainly got to do what Manchester United and Chelsea have done to them, which is try and give them very little space and hit them on the counter attack. Everyone knows that if you give Arsenal time and space they will absolutely crucify you.

"It’s a massive game for us and the target on Wednesday night is to try and get a result where we can push on and try and get third place. We’re just taking each game as it comes.

"Obviously at the end of the season our target is a top four finish, but if Arsenal gives us any sniff of catching them, then we want to grab it and hopefully that will be on Wednesday night.”

Asked by former Anfield striker Collymore what the confidence was like in the Liverpool dressing room, Gerrard said: “I wouldn’t say confidence is sky-high in the dressing room, but it’s certainly on the way up. It’s certainly improving; we’re on a good run.

"But we’re not playing terrifically well to be honest. The last few performances have been more about being solid defensively and nicking important goals. We can certainly play better.”

Asked by Saggers if Liverpool had lacked ‘fight’ in earlier matches this season, Gerrard said: “There have been games this season where we have been beaten and not shown enough fight, enough good attitude and commitment and that’s why we’ve not gotten the result we’ve wanted. But I don’t think anyone can criticise us over the last six games for the level of commitment because every single player in the squad has rolled his sleeves up and everyone is fighting for the same thing.”

Collymore then suggested that Liverpool’s experience in the Champions League and previous Premier League seasons would help the nerves as they approach the ‘sharp end’ of the season. “I’d like to think so,” said Gerrard. “Having the Champions League [win] experience and also finishing in the top four for the past few years will hold us in good stead when the big games come up.

"But we’re treating every game like a cup final at the moment because we’re desperate for this top four [position]. We certainly understand the pressure coming from Manchester City, Tottenham and Aston Villa, and also teams behind them. Because the top four is so important financially to everyone and because every player in the league wants to experience Champions League football, there’s a lot of teams fighting for it.”

Gerrard added: “I don’t think you can call it a ‘top four’ anymore. A lot of teams are putting in a lot of money and squads are improving all the time. We’ve certainly noticed it this year, that sides in the middle of the table and below are an awfully lot harder to beat. A couple of years ago, when you played teams lower down the league, you would expect to win games comfortably. But I don’t think you can say that this season. The lower [placed] teams are taking points off the top sides.”

Following the news that he was to be made England vice-captain; Gerrard was asked if he had spoken to England manager Fabio Capello. “No, he hasn’t been in touch,” said Gerrard. “In the statement he made at the weekend he made it quite clear that Rio would be captain and I would step-up to vice-captain. But no, he certainly hasn’t spoken to me, but I’m sure he’ll do that at the next get-together at the end of February.”

On whether the England squad would be ‘together’ following recent revelations about Chelsea defender John Terry’s private life, Gerrard said: “The qualifying campaign showed how much we are all together, the team spirit has been fantastic and we qualified quite comfortably, playing really well.

"So we want to carry on in that vein of form. We’ve got very few games before the World Cup. We’ve [games against] Egypt and Mexico where we’ll be looking for a couple of wins so we can go into the World Cup full of confidence. But to be successful in the summer we have to be all as one.”

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