Programme notesJordan Henderson: We had a positive performance - now we have to back it up

The Reds return to Premier League action in L4, having sealed passage into the next round of the Emirates FA Cup at Molineux on Tuesday night.

In his programme notes, Henderson writes: "One of the toughest things about playing for a club like Liverpool is the standards are so high. Draws can feel like defeats and actual defeats can feel like the end of the world. As I said, it is tough, but none of us would change it for the world. It’s what makes this club what it is.

"This season in general and the last few weeks in particular have not been easy for us. We have not been at our best, we have not been anywhere near as consistent as we need to be, and the standards that we have set for ourselves have not been met. To say it has not been good enough would be an understatement.

"Again, though, being at Liverpool means this does not just need to improve – it has to improve. We can’t just accept it and settle for falling short either in games or over the course of a season. This club stands for much more than that and anyone who is fortunate enough to play here knows that nothing but the best will ever be good enough.

"I wouldn’t say this is an easy responsibility to carry. It is a great one in more senses than one and you know the level of scrutiny will always be higher and the criticism fiercer than it might be at other clubs, but we also get to use this knowledge as an extra motivation, especially when we have so much awareness of what it feels like to be a Liverpool player when we do meet those exacting standards.

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"This was something that was drummed into me over and over again by senior players from Steven Gerrard downwards when I first came to Liverpool. Now I’m one of the senior players, it is my job to do the same with the younger lads. Yes, the responsibilities are big, but so are the opportunities. It makes sense that we don’t just accept this, but that we actually embrace it."

The captain added: "Now we have had such a positive result and performance, we have to back it up. What happened at Brighton last weekend was not acceptable and the only positive to come from what was a day to forget was the way we responded to it as a team and as a club.

"We do not want to have to keep on responding though and the only way we change this is by performing more consistently and getting results more regularly.

"Our opponents this weekend, Chelsea, are in a similar boat in this regard and like us I have no doubt that they have much more quality than their position in the league table suggests. This makes them a dangerous opponent because I have no doubt that every single player in their dressing room will be hell bent on reminding everyone how good they can be."

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