Football
Mike Whalley 9y

Brendan Rodgers: Winning any trophy would be a 'step forward' for Liverpool

Liverpool boss Brendan Rodgers believes winning a trophy would make this season a success -- even if the club fail to qualify for the Champions League.

Rodgers' side are struggling to secure a place in the competition for next season as they lie ninth in the Premier League, seven points outside a top-four spot.

However, the club are in three cup competitions as they head into 2015, beginning their FA Cup campaign at League Two side AFC Wimbledon on Jan. 5.

They face a two-legged Capital One Cup semi-final against Chelsea later in the month, and a Europa League round of 32 tie against Turkish side Besiktas in February.

If they finish outside the Premier League's top four, Liverpool could still qualify for the Champions League by winning the Europa League.

But as far as Rodgers is concerned, any trophy would represent a step forward from last season, even though the club finished second in the Premier League and were close to winning the title for the first time since 1990.

The manager believes that securing a top-four league finish has become much tougher this season because of increased competition.

Asked if winning a piece of silverware would make for a successful season even if Liverpool did not qualify for the Champions League, Rodgers said: "Yes, because the challenge this year was going to be greater than last year in terms of the top four. There's no question about that.

"But we're a team and a club who want to win trophies. So I think that would be a step for us this season; it would be a step forward.

"We've got an exciting second half of the season ahead. It's well documented how difficult it's been in the first half of the season. Our performances haven't been to the level we would want. But we're looking forward to developing as a group, learning from the experiences and pushing on."

Liverpool, after a wobbly first three months of the season, are showing signs of being able to string positive results together, having lost one out of seven league matches since a 3-1 defeat at Crystal Palace on Nov. 23.

But during that period, the club went out of the Champions League -- and have not always convinced with their performances.

Rodgers, though, thinks that his team after finally moving in the right direction after a few months to forget.

And despite his desire for the club's first trophy since they won the League Cup under Kenny Dalglish in 2012, he thinks a top-four Premier League finish is achievable too.

He said: "For us, the objectives are very much the same. We wanted to finish in that top-four position. We're going step by step. We know there's a long road, but we also know the points can whittle away very, very quickly.

"We're seven points behind. We know we'll be much better in the second half of the season than the first. If we can keep this momentum going, and keep the focus, then we can have a really good second half of the season.

"In my two years here, that's what's happened. We've got better and better as the season has gone on, and we have to this year. So we can do that."

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