ALBERT RIERA knows all too well that raising expectations is one thing but delivering on your promise is quite another.
This time last year, Riera was starring in an Espanyol side which was riding high in La Liga with hopes high that Barcelona's second club might even be able to challenge for the Spanish league title, a trophy they had never won in their history.
By January, they were third, due in no small part to outstanding performances from Riera and talismanic forward Luis Garcia, and were playing well enough to have Real Madrid looking over their shoulders.
But no sooner had hope emerged than it was replaced by despair as Espanyol went on a run of 11 defeats in 14 games which led to them finishing a hugely disappointing 12th.
Having gone from high to low in just four months, it is little wonder the 26-year-old is not getting carried away by the start made to the Premier League season by new club Liverpool, and he is warning that there is much hard work to be done before Rafa Benitez's side can class themselves as genuine title challengers – even after Sunday's momentous victory over Chelsea.
"That result was very important for us and for our confidence," he said.
"It was a very big result but it was only one result and the most important thing for us now is that we must build upon it.
"Now we are confident in ourselves and we know each other better but in football you can never afford to think that you have done enough, you always have to look ahead and try to keep on getting better.
"We are in a good moment but we cannot afford to stand still."
So well has the Majorcan-born left winger settled into the Liverpool side following his £8m move from Espanyol that it is hard to believe he has still only played nine games for his new club.
Anfield observers would be hard pressed to name a fixture where Riera has not played well, and in the short time he has been with Liverpool his performances have been of a particularly high standard.
His Liverpool career thus far is book-ended by appearances against Manchester United and Chelsea, the crème-de-la-crème of English football, and rather than being cowed by facing such illustrious opponents, Riera has actually been inspired by them and was a key factor in the Reds securing memorable victories against their fellow members of the big four.
Riera, though, is still not satisfied. As far as he is concerned, there is more – perhaps even much more – to come from himself as he becomes more acclimatised to the Liverpool way of doing things.
"I know I can still get better," said the Spanish international.
"The best way to progress is to believe that you can get better and give more to the team, and that's the way I am.
"I know that I can give more and having played less than ten games with the team I know that I can improve.
"It is the same for all players in the Premier League – if you have talent and you are prepared to work hard then you can succeed here and you can get better.
"At Liverpool we train hard all the time and this gives us all a chance of improving, especially the players who have not played too much in this country.
"But the most important thing is that the team is winning and that is happening right now."
Of course, some wins are more momentous than others and Sunday's 1-0 victory over Chelsea was the kind of triumph that makes the rest of the nation sit up and take notice.
All of a sudden, Liverpool are being regarded as a team which can challenge the recent supremacy of Chelsea and United, even though they have played just nine games and lack the course and distance record of their rivals.
Riera is delighted that the Reds have made a statement of intent for the rest of the season but he knows it will count for little unless they follow it up with yet more victories – hopefully starting tonight against FA Cup holders Portsmouth at Anfield.
He said: "Before Sunday's game everyone was talking about Chelsea and the fact that they were top of the league and unbeaten so far this season, but we were in the same situation and maybe people now know that we are a good team also and that we want to continue at the top of the league.
"But if this is to happen we know we have to keep on working hard in games and in training and doing the same things that have helped us get to the position we are in right now.
"We know it will be tough because the Premier League is very competitive and you have to work hard in every single game otherwise you can come unstuck.
"Portsmouth will be another difficult game for us.
“They won the FA Cup last season, are in Europe and have had some good results this season.
"But we have confidence and are playing in front of our own fans so we have to try and get another good result."
Having followed up their recent victory over United with a draw against Stoke, Liverpool will be looking to show that they have learned from that experience by ensuring that Pompey are not able to deflate them in a similar fashion.
Expectations are high at Anfield right now – that is the price that comes with beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
It is now up to Liverpool to prove that they can live up to them and not be weighed down by them, like Riera's former club was last season.
This time last year, Riera was starring in an Espanyol side which was riding high in La Liga with hopes high that Barcelona's second club might even be able to challenge for the Spanish league title, a trophy they had never won in their history.
By January, they were third, due in no small part to outstanding performances from Riera and talismanic forward Luis Garcia, and were playing well enough to have Real Madrid looking over their shoulders.
But no sooner had hope emerged than it was replaced by despair as Espanyol went on a run of 11 defeats in 14 games which led to them finishing a hugely disappointing 12th.
Having gone from high to low in just four months, it is little wonder the 26-year-old is not getting carried away by the start made to the Premier League season by new club Liverpool, and he is warning that there is much hard work to be done before Rafa Benitez's side can class themselves as genuine title challengers – even after Sunday's momentous victory over Chelsea.
"That result was very important for us and for our confidence," he said.
"It was a very big result but it was only one result and the most important thing for us now is that we must build upon it.
"Now we are confident in ourselves and we know each other better but in football you can never afford to think that you have done enough, you always have to look ahead and try to keep on getting better.
"We are in a good moment but we cannot afford to stand still."
So well has the Majorcan-born left winger settled into the Liverpool side following his £8m move from Espanyol that it is hard to believe he has still only played nine games for his new club.
Anfield observers would be hard pressed to name a fixture where Riera has not played well, and in the short time he has been with Liverpool his performances have been of a particularly high standard.
His Liverpool career thus far is book-ended by appearances against Manchester United and Chelsea, the crème-de-la-crème of English football, and rather than being cowed by facing such illustrious opponents, Riera has actually been inspired by them and was a key factor in the Reds securing memorable victories against their fellow members of the big four.
Riera, though, is still not satisfied. As far as he is concerned, there is more – perhaps even much more – to come from himself as he becomes more acclimatised to the Liverpool way of doing things.
"I know I can still get better," said the Spanish international.
"The best way to progress is to believe that you can get better and give more to the team, and that's the way I am.
"I know that I can give more and having played less than ten games with the team I know that I can improve.
"It is the same for all players in the Premier League – if you have talent and you are prepared to work hard then you can succeed here and you can get better.
"At Liverpool we train hard all the time and this gives us all a chance of improving, especially the players who have not played too much in this country.
"But the most important thing is that the team is winning and that is happening right now."
Of course, some wins are more momentous than others and Sunday's 1-0 victory over Chelsea was the kind of triumph that makes the rest of the nation sit up and take notice.
All of a sudden, Liverpool are being regarded as a team which can challenge the recent supremacy of Chelsea and United, even though they have played just nine games and lack the course and distance record of their rivals.
Riera is delighted that the Reds have made a statement of intent for the rest of the season but he knows it will count for little unless they follow it up with yet more victories – hopefully starting tonight against FA Cup holders Portsmouth at Anfield.
He said: "Before Sunday's game everyone was talking about Chelsea and the fact that they were top of the league and unbeaten so far this season, but we were in the same situation and maybe people now know that we are a good team also and that we want to continue at the top of the league.
"But if this is to happen we know we have to keep on working hard in games and in training and doing the same things that have helped us get to the position we are in right now.
"We know it will be tough because the Premier League is very competitive and you have to work hard in every single game otherwise you can come unstuck.
"Portsmouth will be another difficult game for us.
“They won the FA Cup last season, are in Europe and have had some good results this season.
"But we have confidence and are playing in front of our own fans so we have to try and get another good result."
Having followed up their recent victory over United with a draw against Stoke, Liverpool will be looking to show that they have learned from that experience by ensuring that Pompey are not able to deflate them in a similar fashion.
Expectations are high at Anfield right now – that is the price that comes with beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
It is now up to Liverpool to prove that they can live up to them and not be weighed down by them, like Riera's former club was last season.
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