Liverpool’s Cup of hope
RAFA Benitez insists the FA Cup is more important than ever to Liverpool as they battle to avoid a fourth successive season without a major trophy.
Having fallen way off the pace in the race for the Premier League as well as being eliminated from the Champions League, the FA Cup represents one of Liverpool’s last hopes of bringing silverware to Anfield this term.
They face a tricky third round date away to Reading, who are struggling in the second-tier of English football, today.
Benitez, who has often used the competition to give fringe players a chance to stake a claim, insists he does not intend to make wholesale changes for the tie.
“It’s always been important but you know that when you’re out of the Champions League, the people think about silverware and the FA Cup is very, very important for us,” said Benitez.
“We want to progress, we want to go as far as we can,” the Spaniard added.
“We’ll have to analyse and consider what to do and we still have another training session. We’ll see how the players are but maybe we won’t change too many.
“We know we’re playing against Tottenham eight days later, so we’ll have time. We can put a strong team out.
“Always in the FA Cup it’s really important to do things right. Everyone wants to win and it’s a massive competition, so we have to be ready.”
Although Liverpool beat Chelsea in the Community Shield in August 2006, the Merseyside club has not won a major piece of silverware since Benitez steered it to its seventh and last FA Cup triumph in May 2006.
Liverpool will definitely be without right-back Glen Johnson who will be out for at least a month.
The visit of Liverpool provides Reading with the opportunity to draw a line under a miserable year that ends with the club sitting just two points above the Championship relegation zone.
Brian McDermott was placed in temporary charge following the dismissal of former manager Brendan Rodgers in mid-December after just six months in charge and a season that began with high hopes of promotion has turned into a desperate survival battle.
Monday’s 4-1 loss at Plymouth marked a new low point for the Royals although McDermott is undaunted at the prospect of facing Liverpool.
“The main thing we have to do as a club is to restore the pride,” said the caretaker manager.
“We really let the fans down in the Plymouth game and it’s important that we get some pride back for the supporters.
“We’re playing one of the biggest clubs in the world and it’s a great game for us to be playing at our own stadium in front of our fans.”
Reading midfielder Brian Howard certainly has no reason to feel intimidated by the visit of Liverpool after scoring the last minute winner for Barnsley at Anfield in 2008.
-AFP
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