Liverpool defender Glen Johnson has denied there is any rift between him and his manager Roy Hodgson after the right back capped his Anfield comeback with a goal in the comfortable victory over bottom placed West Ham United.
Hodgson had criticized the England right-back last week saying he wasn't deserving of his call-up for the midweek friendly with France. Johnson, though, dismissed any fall-out.
“I didn’t need to hear it from the boss to know that I hadn’t been playing at my best, I’m an honest man and I know how well I can play, so it was nice to get a goal today," he told ESPN.
After marking his return to the side with a goal against the Hammers, he spoke about his delight at being back in the team, adding: “It’s always nice to come off the treatment bench and it’s obviously nice to come back with a goal. I missed the last six out of seven games, so I just wanted to get back into it.”
Johnson’s team-mate Dirk Kuyt also spoke about his penalty, after taking over the spot kick duties from injured skipper Steven Gerrard.
He said: “Normally Stevie is taking the penalties, so he gave me a little tip before the game and it helped. He said to shoot through the middle and that’s what I did.”
The Dutch international was also happy with his side’s performance, adding: “I thought that we played well in the first half, we were right in top of them and I thought that Glen scored a great goal. For there on in we kept playing football and creating chances.”
Some had labeled the Anfield team a two-man side, but Kuyt disagreed.
“Everyone knows that we will miss Stevie very much in the next couple of weeks, hopefully he will be back as quickly as possible, but I think today we showed that we are more than a two man team," he said.
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