Brendan Rodgers believes the misery of recent near misses in the Premier League and League Cup can help Liverpool "step on" and avoid an unwanted hat-trick in Sunday's FA Cup semi-final with Aston Villa.
The Liverpool manager made the first trophy of his Anfield reign a priority from the outset of this season and enters a second semi-final of the campaign 25 points above Tim Sherwood’s team in the Premier League. Having suffered a late collapse in last season’s title race and fallen short against Chelsea in January’s Capital One Cup semi-final, Liverpool know their winning mentality is under scrutiny. But Rodgers is adamant those painful experiences will harden his players to the task of reaching the May 30th final.
“When you get so close, whether it was in the title race or the cup, it hurts,” said the Liverpool manager, who will assess Daniel Sturridge’s hip injury on Saturday before deciding whether to involve the striker at Wembley.
“I always think that if you trace back the winners in sport and look at everything they have won, you also look at what they have lost. You will see they go close on a number of occasions before they step on.
"Phil Mickelson never won a Masters for years. Everyone said: 'Could he do it?' But he didn't do it and he didn't do it. Then he won his first one and that gave him the confidence to go on. That's how it works in sport. Players who have won Champions Leagues have also lost Champions League semi-finals and finals. It's all part of the journey of being a winner, losing, as long as you take that forward and it improves you.
“For us it’s about controlling the emotion of the semi-final. I was pleased with how we coped in the semi-final over two games with Chelsea. They went on and won it but we were clearly the better team. We’ve just got to take that next step and if we can win a trophy this year it would give a huge boost of confidence to the team going forward.”
Sturridge has not played since being injured in the quarter-final replay at Blackburn Rovers on April 8th. “We’ll give Dan every possibility to be fit for the game. We’ll see how he is on Saturday,” said Rodgers.
Steven Gerrard is available after a three-match ban for his dismissal against Manchester United and, despite playing only 27 minutes in the last two months, the captain is in contention for a starting role on Sunday.
“He’s definitely ready,” Rodgers said. “We played a behind-closed-doors game here on Monday and Steven played in that. He’s fine. Whether he plays or doesn’t play, he will be a very important member of the squad for us on the day. He’s still an incredible player. In the big games he has produced big goals at big moments. He knows Wembley very well and he has special quality.”
The Liverpool manager has also reminded Raheem Sterling and Jordon Ibe of their responsibilities to Liverpool and as role models after the pair were pictured with shisha pipes this week. Footage also emerged of Sterling taking nitrous oxide at home.
Rodgers said: “It is very important they have closeknit people around them who they can trust. I think there is an innocence to it as well. I know Jordon Ibe. I know Raheem I would think inside out now. They are both good kids. They are not unprofessional, they love their work, they are here all the time. It is just about awareness for them. They will learn from this experience.”
Guardian Service
