Jordan Henderson has vowed to maintain the form that is helping Liverpool fight tooth and nail to taste success this season. Jurgen Klopp’s men sit at the top of the pile in the Premier League table, two points better off than Manchester City who are in second spot having played a game fewer than the Reds. That statistic means the destination of the title remains in the hands of the Etihad Stadium outfit — but the England midfielder isn’t giving any ground in the pursuit for silverware.
He retains the same attitude when it comes to chasing glory in the Champions League with the Anfield giants set to face Portuguese side Porto in the quarter-final following a memorable easing aside of German powerhouse Bayern Munich in the previous round.
And Liverpool skipper Hendo says he will use the experiences of coming oh-so close to silverware in the past to inspire him to achieve his goals this time of asking. He managed to get his hands on the League Cup in the Reds’ success back in 2012; and has since been a runner-up in the cup as well as the top-flight, Champions League, FA Cup as well as the Europa League.
So, when he was quizzed on the club’s official website as to how his previous experiences influenced his approach to the task ahead, he said: “It gives you even more motivation to then keep going, keep wanting to be in that position again to make it right, and go that final step, really. It’s definitely an extra motivation that I use. Maybe I had a little taste of it playing in finals but I haven’t really managed to win the big trophies, and that’s the next step.
“You always want to go on, you always want to go on and win. It’s so disappointing that we haven’t done that. And that gives you that bit more to want to get back there and want to put it right.”
Before the international break, Klopp’s men were delighted to earn a 2-1 win at Fulham, a result that left them at the top of the table with just seven games left. City will jump ahead of the Reds if they win their game in hand but Hendo says he and his team-mates won’t let the grasp of the top spot falter without a scrap to snatch the prize from the reigning champs.
He added: “That’s what us as players want to do, for us as a team and for the fans as well, for the whole club, but when you play for Liverpool there’s always pressure, pressure to perform, expectation. Of course, that’s the reason why you want to go there. We’ve put ourselves in a great position to compete. And now it’s down to us to just keep going.”
The next chance they get to “keep going” comes once the dust has settled on the international break on March 31 when they host Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield — a game in which the visitors will be desperately keen to win to boost their chances of gaining Champions League football for next season.
