Reds captain preaches redemption

Stevie demands strong rebound

By Zain Alvi | 27th July 2012

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard is looking forward to seeing new manager Brendan Rodgers revolutionize the Reds’ offense but wants his teammates to use last season’s disappointment as a fuel to succeed in the coming campaign.

Gerrard has been out of action since England’s Euro 2012 quarterfinal elimination but his teammates have continued to struggle, remaining without a win in their first two pre-season matches in the United States.

The Reds limped to an unconvincing 1-1 draw against Toronto FC last Saturday and followed that up with a 2-1 defeat to AS Roma at Boston’s Fenway Park on Wednesday evening.

Adam Morgan and Charlie Adam have been the only scorers over the course of the two aforementioned matches, which is insufficient in alleviating fears regarding Liverpool’s goal-scoring troubles.

Last season, they stuttered to an eight place finish due to too many costly draws and a handful of shocking defeats but with Rodgers at the helm, the club’s supporters are feeling more confident about the team’s potential new aggression.

While the system will be new, Gerrard wants one attribute of the the prior system to stick around as a motivator: the unhealed wounds.

“We’ll see a bolder Liverpool team – and more exciting too. It’s not just been these last few days that I’ve had a chance to learn about the new manager, he’s been in touch with me since he came in,” Gerrard was quoted as he described the influence of Rodgers.

The 32-year old added:”He has made me aware of where he’s at and what he’s trying to do – I’ve been really impressed with him. His man-management is fantastic and if he can do that with all the players in the squad, then it can be really good for the club.”

Keeping it real

Despite his excitement, Gerrard remains cautious about aiming too high.

“I don’t think a team has ever gone from eighth to first. But there’s still other big targets for us to achieve short-term and that’s getting in that top four again – that’s the priority. And if you perform hard enough and well enough, it will come. That is the only way you get it and I am confident we will.

“But the other players have got to think how I think and use the hurt of what happened to make up for it. That is the only way you can do it. I honestly think we will get in the top four because if we play like we did in a lot of games last season and take our chances, we will be high up the table.”

Liverpool will conclude their U.S. tour with Saturday’s much awaited exhibition against Premier League rivals Tottenham in Baltimore.