Boss buoyed with pre-derby confidence
Brendan Rodgers has wasted little time in switching his focus to the upcoming Merseyside derby – a game which the Northern Irishman believes his side can approach with 'great confidence'.
The manager masterminded a 4-0 victory over Fulham at Anfield on Saturday, a result which allowed the Reds to leapfrog Chelsea into second place in the Barclays Premier League standings.
Liverpool will cross Stanley Park to take on Everton in 12 days' time on the back of a record which shows seven wins from 11 matches - a statistic which provides the boss with cause for optimism.
Post-match, he told Liverpoolfc.com: "We'll evaluate this game. Now our focus goes straight away to the next game.
"Obviously there are internationals, so we hope that all the players come back fit and well. I really enjoyed the two games last season. We should have won the game there.
"Hopefully we can take the confidence from today's performance, and seven wins out of 11 at the opening of the season. That gives us great confidence going into the game."
Analysing the crucial factors in comfortably seeing off Fulham, the 40-year-old pointed to the consistent pressing high up the field achieved by the home side as vitally important.
"That's key for us - we're not a team and I'm not a coach that likes to sit back and wait for the game," the manager continued.
"It's important that you take the initiative and look to be hungry for the football. Our appetite for the ball was important because these are games that can be difficult.
"If you don't go and press and work well, then you can sit in and allow too much space. But we closed the space really well, from the front two pressing high up.
"The midfield, as a collective, were outstanding. We kept a clean sheet, which was also very important.
"We were deserving winners; we scored four very good goals and could have had more. The appetite of the players was outstanding.
"We knew we didn't play as well as we wanted to at Arsenal, but we worked hard. They are one of the form teams in Europe at the moment - we lost the game but still had chances.
"It was going to be important for us to get the three points against Fulham, and we did that with an outstanding team performance.
"We've been on an upward turn in terms of form. When I arrived in here, it was deemed a very difficult place to get results.
"Now you've got to give the players credit that the mentality is that we're really turning the screw in games like this here.
"Now there's a sense that we know what we need to do, and if we do it we'll win the game. That's not being arrogant; it's just the footballing quality and mentality of the team.
"These are games that can be very difficult, but we played very well and got the three points."
After watching Luis Suarez fire another two goals in front of his home crowd, Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard suggested that the Uruguayan is among the top three players in the world.
While in awe of the No.7's prolific finishing technique, Rodgers noted several other areas of the forward's game which deserve equal credit.
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"He's up there, because he's one of the top strikers in the world. We all know his qualities," he said.
"For me, his biggest attribute is his will and desire, that determination to put himself out there every week for the team.
"There was an example of him chasing back into the corner, tracking back, and that's something that is very important for us if we're going to succeed.
"Our hallmark and the benchmark of the team, which is Luis' main attribute, is hard work. That's great to see."