STEVEN GERRARD has seen just 90 minutes of new-look
Liverpool. Yet he is already convinced they have the firepower to
leave Chelsea and Manchester United fearing the worst. Gerrard
played in a strong line-up which beat Werder Bremen 3-2 in
Switzerland on Tuesday evening in their first serious warm-up. And
he reckons the Premier Leagues big two will have a serious fight
on their hands when the real action kicks off.
The Anfield skipper insisted: Ive watched what the other teams
are doing in the market and theyre all strengthening. But all
those teams will be looking at us and thinking we are going to be
all over them this season. Im not going to start making any
unnecessary predictions about whats going to happen this season
and the last thing any of us need to do is build hopes up too much.
But without doubt, if we all perform to our level each week, we
have the players to push United and Chelsea all the way.
We are looking in great shape, not only going into this season but
for the next few years. I thought going away for the summer that
we were three or four players away from where we need to be. Now I
think we are in a great place to challenge United and Chelsea and I
hope if we get things right from the beginning we can beat them to
the big prizes this year.
Liverpool handed debuts to Fernando Torres, Yossi Benayoun and Ryan
Babel in the win over Bremen. Andriy Voronin stole the show with
two goals, yet it is the signing of Torres who cost a club record
£21.5m from Atletico Madrid that has really delighted Gerrard. He
added: When we sign a striker I look at the defensive pairings of
United and Chelsea and ask if weve signed a player who is going to
cause them all sorts of problems.
I did it with Torres and ended up with a smile on my face because
I dont think anyone will enjoy playing against him. Hes a great
talent and its a massive statement to the rest of the division.
Ive liked the way weve done business this summer. Previous years
have shown how important it is to sort everything early in the
pre-season, as its not easy for players if they arrive just before
the deadline. It makes it harder for them to settle. Its
important we get off to a good start and thats going to be a lot
easier if we have everyone here as soon as possible.
Hopefully with everyone having had the right amount of rest this
summer well be able to hit the ground running when the Premiership
begins. People say you cant win the league in August but I believe
you can certainly lose it in the first month. Its fine saying
its a nine-month season and there is plenty of time to recover
from a shaky start but its hard playing catch-up week-in,
week-out.
The last thing you want to do is give teams like Manchester United
and Chelsea a head start, making things even more difficult for you
than they are already. As footballers, we understand youre going
to have to put it in during July to get your levels back to where
they should be. But credit to the Spanish backroom staff, they
know how to do it quickly, as painlessly as possible.
I missed a bit of the last pre-season because of the World Cup. I
came back and felt I needed more holiday. I was mentally and
physically drained at the start of the season but this time I feel
Ive had a break and we will go into the season brimming with
confidence.
