Cairney relishes Raheem’s world
BLACKBURN midfi elder Tom Cairney will share a pitch with Raheem Sterling tonight but knows that in many ways they are on a different plane.
Sterling goes into Liverpool’s FA Cup quarter- fi nal replay at Ewood Park with his Anfi eld future uncertain after rejecting the offer of a new contract worth £ 100,000 a week.
It is the kind of money Blackburn’s players can only dream of in the Championship but Cairney does not begrudge Sterling holding out for more.
“To be fair, if they offered it to me I’d turn it down,” joked Cairney, 24, who is thought to be on less than £ 10,000 a week.
“It’s a different level. He might be thinking the top dog at Liverpool is on a lot more and he feels he’s doing a job just as well.
“He is 20 years old. Potentially he can only get better so he maybe feels he deserves more.
“I know it sounds stupid, more than 100 grand a week, but that’s the world we live in and that’s football. It’s up to him. If he stays at Liverpool he will be one of the top players for the next eight years.
“To turn down 100 grand a week in our world is crazy but he’s in the top three 20- year- olds in the world. The world is at his feet and to do that he believes a lot in his ability and obviously believes he deserves more.
“There will be a lot of top teams sniffi ng around if he doesn’t sign a new contract.”
Cairney, inset right, was happy to see Sterling tucked away in a wing- back role when the two teams drew 0- 0 in the fi rst meeting at Anfi eld last month.
That may not be the case this evening after the England international started up front in Liverpool’s 4- 1 thrashing at Arsenal last Saturday – although manager Brendan Rodgers may be ready to hand a start to the fi t- again Daniel Sturridge as the Reds look for some solace by setting up a semi- fi nal against Aston Villa.
Blackburn manager Gary Bowyer believes the replay with Liverpool can help supporters to fall in love with the club again.
Rovers have endured a tumultuous few years with frequent changes of management and discontent with owners Venky’s. They are expecting their fi rst sell- out crowd at Ewood Park since they played Manchester United in May 2011.
“We are talking about an extra 20,000 fans in the stadium,” said Bowyer.
“Slowly but surely their interest has gone back into the team and it’s great for us because it’s the next stage for us to carry on growing.” Rodgers admits Liverpool’s season will be deemed a disappointment unless they lift the FA Cup or reingratiate themselves with the top four.
With the latter now looking unlikely after damaging league defeats by Manchester United and Arsenal, the importance of this replay at Blackburn, who have knocked out Premier League sides Swansea and Stoke at home in the FA Cup this season, cannot be overstated as Liverpool seek to salvage something from their campaign.
Rodgers’ priority was to lift silverware this term and, having fallen at the semi- fi nal stage in the Capital One Cup and exited two European competitions at the fi rst hurdle, he knows his side must prevail at Ewood Park in order to avoid renewed scrutiny.
Asked if the FA Cup was now key to saving their season, Rodgers said: “I don’t want to go down the route of saying that.
“Our objective was to win a trophy. If we didn’t get in the top four and we didn’t have a trophy this year, we ourselves would be disappointed.
“We want to be able to be challenging every year. That was the key thing for me, to get the group challenging at the top end of the league and for trophies.
“The FA Cup would mark a good step forward for us.”