Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson sat down with LFCTV this week and gave an honest assessment of our current situation as a football club – discussing last season’s struggles and our inspiration to improve.
In quotes taken by our official website, the 24-year-old admitted that he still thinks about the humiliating climax to last season, which ended in a 6-1 defeat to Stoke City at the Britannia Stadium.
“I still think you tend to think about it,” he said. “I mean, you’ve got to put it to bed but in the back of your mind it’s always there. I think that’s a good thing because we always want to try and improve and we will use it to want to do better.
“So even though last season was a disappointing one for us we can still use that going forward for this season in a positive way and hopefully we can do that come the first game.
“That’s where we finished our season poorly. We were really down and it was disappointing how we did end the season but I think the first game of the season is a good way to put that right really.”
SEE MORE:
Liverpool’s most successful academy products ever, as youngsters enjoy pre-season tour
Predicting Liverpool’s striking pecking order next season, with Origi fourth choice
Mario Balotelli tactfully responds to offer from third division Italian club
Brendan Rodgers’ side have responded well thus far, enjoying a busy summer which has seen us sign seven new players, revamp our backroom staff and partake in an unbeaten pre-season tour of the Far East.
“We’ve obviously talked about the problems that we had last season,” Henderson continued. We are working on it in pre-season and obviously try different things but it’s been freshened up as well with the new staff and some new players.
“I think that’s really freshened us up and like I say everything is looking positive so far, but we’ve got to keep going, keep working hard and pushing ourselves to the limits then come the first game of the season we will be raring to go.”
Of the Liverpool team that won our last major trophy – the League Cup in 2012 – only three players, including Henderson, are still members of the squad. With Rodgers entering his fourth year as Liverpool manager, our skipper knows only too well that he must help the Northern Irishman get off the mark in terms of silverware.
“I think definitely winning something, winning a trophy,” he explained, when asked about his aims for the year. “It would be big for the players, it would be big for the club and obviously for the fans, I think that’s a big aim for us this season.
“Also getting back in the top-four and the Champions League. This football club deserves to be playing in the Champions League every year so that will be a big objective, and then once you are in and around that top four you never know what can happen.
“We’ll be pushing on from there, but like I say it is early days and we’ve got to take each game as it comes and hopefully we can start the season off well and then build from that.”
In exactly two weeks time, Henderson will lead Liverpool out for the first time as the club’s official captain in a competitive fixture, against Stoke City. The Reds will be looking to avenge the defeat we suffered there on our last Premier League outing and get our new campaign off to the perfect start.