Striker Dirk Kuyt says Liverpool FC's confidence has returned thanks to three successive wins following a shaky start to the season.
Having lost two of their first three Premier League matches, Rafa Benitez’s side seem to be back on track, although last night’s laboured 1-0 Champions League win over Debrecen showed there is still plenty of room for improvement.
Liverpool FC head to West Ham on Saturday looking to maintain their winning run and close the gap on leaders Chelsea, who play fourth-placed Tottenham, and Manchester United and City, who face each other in the derby on Sunday.
And Kuyt, who scored his third Liverpool FC goal of the season against the Hungarians, insists they go into the game buoyed by recent results.
"Everyone knows we had a bad start, losing against Spurs and Aston Villa, so we had to try to get the confidence back, try to change things," he said.
"That’s what we’ve done by winning three games in a row, and now we’re looking forward to Saturday.
"Every game is difficult as everyone knows. The Premier League is a very hard league but we have the quality to win these kinds of games.
"At this stage we just have to look at ourselves, win our games and then in a couple of months see where we are."
The Holland international’s goal against Debrecen was his 12th in the Champions League, putting him level with former midfielder Terry McDermott in joint third on the list of Liverpool FC's all-time top scorers in the European Cup.
Only current captain Steven Gerrard (28) and Ian Rush (14) stand above Kuyt but the 29-year-old is just pleased to be contributing to the club’s success.
"It’s always nice to be important for the club, especially when it comes to Europe," added the Dutchman, who again played as support striker to Fernando Torres with Gerrard dropping back into a more orthodox central midfield position.
"Champions League games are always special, so I’m happy I scored again and now I’ll try to keep going.
"What I would like to do is become more and more important for the team and try to do my best.
"I’m happy with my performances so far this season but I need to keep going.
"I’m feeling really confident. I’ve played the last two games in a slightly different position but for me that doesn’t matter.
"I just want to be important for the team."
Goalkeeper Jose Reina, who had one serious save to make all night against the Hungarians, certainly appreciates the effort of Kuyt, who seems to always score important goals in European matches.
"It seems like it’s his competition," said the Spain international.
"He always scores in the Champions League, he’s got into the habit and let’s hope he keeps on scoring a lot of goals. He did a good job."
Liverpool struggled to hit anything near top form against Debrecen, making their debut in the group stages, and Reina accepts it was a frustrating night.
However, tougher tests await in Italian’s Fiorentina and France’s Champions League regulars Lyon.
"The job is to qualify and it is not easy. We have to think about getting as many points as possible but if we get them little by little we will get through," added Reina.
"It was a difficult game, we knew they’d go into it with a lot of motivation as it was their first match in the Champions League.
"They didn’t make things easy for us but we’ve fulfilled our objective, which was to win and now we can look forward.
"We’ve a difficult trip ahead of us to Fiorentina and we need to try to get the points there.
"It will be tough as Fiorentina play in one of the top leagues but if you look at any team in the Champions League you cannot say ’We’ll beat them easily’."
Having lost two of their first three Premier League matches, Rafa Benitez’s side seem to be back on track, although last night’s laboured 1-0 Champions League win over Debrecen showed there is still plenty of room for improvement.
Liverpool FC head to West Ham on Saturday looking to maintain their winning run and close the gap on leaders Chelsea, who play fourth-placed Tottenham, and Manchester United and City, who face each other in the derby on Sunday.
And Kuyt, who scored his third Liverpool FC goal of the season against the Hungarians, insists they go into the game buoyed by recent results.
"Everyone knows we had a bad start, losing against Spurs and Aston Villa, so we had to try to get the confidence back, try to change things," he said.
"That’s what we’ve done by winning three games in a row, and now we’re looking forward to Saturday.
"Every game is difficult as everyone knows. The Premier League is a very hard league but we have the quality to win these kinds of games.
"At this stage we just have to look at ourselves, win our games and then in a couple of months see where we are."
The Holland international’s goal against Debrecen was his 12th in the Champions League, putting him level with former midfielder Terry McDermott in joint third on the list of Liverpool FC's all-time top scorers in the European Cup.
Only current captain Steven Gerrard (28) and Ian Rush (14) stand above Kuyt but the 29-year-old is just pleased to be contributing to the club’s success.
"It’s always nice to be important for the club, especially when it comes to Europe," added the Dutchman, who again played as support striker to Fernando Torres with Gerrard dropping back into a more orthodox central midfield position.
"Champions League games are always special, so I’m happy I scored again and now I’ll try to keep going.
"What I would like to do is become more and more important for the team and try to do my best.
"I’m happy with my performances so far this season but I need to keep going.
"I’m feeling really confident. I’ve played the last two games in a slightly different position but for me that doesn’t matter.
"I just want to be important for the team."
Goalkeeper Jose Reina, who had one serious save to make all night against the Hungarians, certainly appreciates the effort of Kuyt, who seems to always score important goals in European matches.
"It seems like it’s his competition," said the Spain international.
"He always scores in the Champions League, he’s got into the habit and let’s hope he keeps on scoring a lot of goals. He did a good job."
Liverpool struggled to hit anything near top form against Debrecen, making their debut in the group stages, and Reina accepts it was a frustrating night.
However, tougher tests await in Italian’s Fiorentina and France’s Champions League regulars Lyon.
"The job is to qualify and it is not easy. We have to think about getting as many points as possible but if we get them little by little we will get through," added Reina.
"It was a difficult game, we knew they’d go into it with a lot of motivation as it was their first match in the Champions League.
"They didn’t make things easy for us but we’ve fulfilled our objective, which was to win and now we can look forward.
"We’ve a difficult trip ahead of us to Fiorentina and we need to try to get the points there.
"It will be tough as Fiorentina play in one of the top leagues but if you look at any team in the Champions League you cannot say ’We’ll beat them easily’."
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