‘We know it’s about winning.. that’s the bottom line. It’s all about trophies, and we’ve put ourselves in a really good position to achieve that’
FOUR years ago it was Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge and Raheem Sterling – now Mo Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane are the Kop’s Holy Trinity.
In-form Liverpool reached a century of goals in all competitions last weekend, and their former manager Rafa Benitez is next in the Fun Boy Three’s line of fire when Newcastle visit Anfield on Saturday. Captain Jordan Henderson has played with both the cavaliers who came so close to winning the title under Brendan Rodgers and the band put together by Jurgen Klopp.
For thrill-seekers, it has been like swapping a Ferrari for a Lamborghini – but Henderson has warned the fun will become enshrined in Liverpool’s history only if they convert the blizzard of goals into trophies.
Entertaining or not, they have won only one major trophy since 2006, and Henderson delivered a timely reminder that great strikers need winners’ medals to validate their careers – a conundrum also facing Harry Kane at Tottenham.
Henderson said: “It’s been a privilege to play with some unbelievable strikers at Liverpool, and hopefully the three we have up front now can keep going the way they have performed this season because they have been absolutely brilliant.
“To score 100 goals in a season before the end of February is fantastic, although you can also play exciting football and win only 1-0.
“I do believe we play the right way – and that neutrals enjoy watching us in terms of tempo, hard work, and commitment to attacking football – but ultimately this game is about winning.
“It doesn’t matter how you do it – there’s more than one way to win football matches – but if we perform at the level we can every week, we’ll give ourselves half a chance of winning a trophy.
“There are similarities between Brendan’s team and Jurgen Klopp’s approach, but at the same time they were two totally different managers, two totally different teams, and two different
set-ups in training – even if the results are similar in terms of the goals we’ve scored.
“But we know it’s about winning, that’s the bottom line. It’s about trophies, and we’ve put ourselves in a really good position to go on to achieve that over the next few years.
“When you are playing with top players like those three lads up front it’s so enjoyable to watch – and from midfield I get one of the best views in the house – but it’s all about the team. They get the headlines because of how many goals they score, how many chances they create, and how good they are going forward, but they are also fantastic lads in terms of their defensive work and helping us defend from the front as a team.
“Firmino is a prime example of working hard and pressing to win the ball back high up the pitch, which gives us chances to counter-attack. He’s a key player for us in that press. And Mo has been incredible for us this season. I think playing in the Premier League before with Chelsea helped him because he knew the physical demands of English football.
“From the moment he linked up with us in pre-season you thought, ‘This lad can play’ – but since then he’s kicked on again and he’s going from strength to strength.
“Confidence has played a big part in that and he’s full of confidence now.
“He’s scored so many goals, in so many different ways, and he’s been a massive influence for us.
“I’d say that If he keeps performing at his current level, he’s definitely up there for the Premier League’s player of the season.
“Top players are quick to develop an understanding on the pitch in terms of their movement and the thing I really like about the three of them – Firmino, Salah, Mane – is that they don’t really care who scores the goals.
“A lot of strikers are selfish by nature, but they enjoy each other’s success and they appreciate the team giving them a platform to make things happen in the final third.”
Mo has been incredible and playing for Chelsea meant he knew the physical demands