Video courtesy of True Kop LFC
With Liverpool sitting five points out of a Champions League spot with only eight matches remaining and facing a trip to the Emirates Stadium this weekend, Reds boss Brendan Rodger was always going to be in a bullish mood in his pre-match press conference, but following Raheem Sterling’s explosive interview yesterday, we saw the Northern Irishman’s already sharp edge tempered even further.
“No, it absolutely aligns everything in terms of what we’re trying to achieve here,” retorted Rodgers when asked if the wingers assertions that his contract delays were more about winning things than money detracted from what the Reds are trying to accomplish. “If Raheem is saying that his ambition is to win trophies and be successful, then it’s perfectly aligned with what we’re looking to do,” he continued. “For Raheem to be playing here is an honour for him, to play here at a club like Liverpool in front of our great supporters. And he understands that and sees that. I think what he’s saying overall is that he’s got two-and-a-half years left on his contract, he is quite relaxed – as much as I am – about the situation and between now and the end of the season he just wants to really focus on that.”
After going on to confirm that the club will not entertain the thought of selling Sterling should the contract impasse continue, that’s talk coming from a manager desperately chasing Champions League football and his first trophy since taking over at Anfield and not from one that’s altogether certain what’s going to happen when contract negotiations open again in the summer. That being said, Rodgers knows that regardless of the money on the table, players of his caliber want to be playing at the top level and that means getting the club back into Europe’s most important club competition — which has been the focus all along.
With our best chance to force our way into the top four gone for now, it’s going to be a matter of picking up as many points as we can and hoping those around us slip-up and with Arsenal in third place going into kick-off on Saturday, this is exactly the kind of match we need to win. “It’s a game we will want to get something from. In terms of the objectives going into the game, it’s no different to what it was before Manchester United, but of course we had a disappointing result and performance last time out” conceded the Northern Irishman. “We really want to make sure we perform and give ourselves a chance to get a positive result.”
