Programme notes'It's brilliant to be back at Anfield - let's keep on keeping on'

The Reds resume their push for an unprecedented quadruple against Watford in L4 on Saturday lunchtime in a match that is the first of eight scheduled across three competitions in April.

Writing in the official matchday programme, the captain notes: “It’s only been less than a month since we last played at Anfield in the Premier League but so much has happened in the intervening weeks that it seems a lot longer.

“All I know is it’s brilliant to be back here, playing in front of our own fans at the start of a period which promises to be as hectic as any we have ever been involved in.

“People will no doubt be bored by us saying we’re taking one game at a time, but how could we possibly look ahead when every opponent presents a challenge in their own right and when the one thing they would love would be for us to be distracted by the next fixture or the one after that?

“The only thing we can say for sure with a couple of months of the season still to go is a lot of hard work has been done, but a great deal more lies ahead, starting with the visit of Watford – a team which is fighting for survival and one which has the kind of quality that can and will punish us if we take our eye off the ball.

“Yes, this is the home straight, but the finishing line isn’t even in sight yet so all we can do is keep on keeping on.

“I hope our supporters can enjoy what is happening right now and that you also allow yourselves to get a bit excited because that is exactly what being a supporter is about. But for the players this isn’t a time for dreaming – it’s a time for focus.

“It’s not as if we don’t have a guide to what lies in store either. The fixture list literally does that for us by giving us a game-by-game schedule which lets us know when our focus should shift to a particular opponent. Today it is Watford and only after this match is prepared, played and digested will we move onto the next one.

“Again, the gaffer and his staff will see a bigger picture and will prepare each fixture with this in mind, but the lads are all experienced and knowledgeable enough to know that taking each game as it comes is a cliche for a reason.

“I know we will be asked about what the future could hold and that’s perfectly understandable, but by the same token we know that our objectives aren’t best served by gazing into a crystal ball and thinking of what could be.

“The only commitment I will offer is that we will continue to give our all. No matter what the competition, who the opposition is or which team the gaffer selects, I can safely say that this group of players has earned the right to pride itself in always giving 100 per cent.

“It makes sense to carry on holding ourselves to this kind of standard.”

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