BR: Consistency the next step for Coutinho
Philippe Coutinho can take the next step in his career by making contributions such as his winner at Stoke City an even more regular occurrence, according to Brendan Rodgers.
The Brazilian settled the season opener in Liverpool’s favour by spinning into space and blasting a shot from 25 yards past the goalkeeper’s reach into the roof of the net.
Goals from distance have become a theme for the No.10, who struck similarly memorable efforts against Bolton Wanderers, Southampton and Manchester City last season.
As Coutinho gets set to run out at Anfield for the first time in three months, for the visit of Bournemouth tonight, Rodgers outlined what his 2013 signing has to do now.
“It’s just consistency and we have started to see that in his game,” said the manager.
“He’s also the type of player that his numbers will be important. It’s about creating and scoring goals – that’s the type of player that he is, the level that he wants to get to and the level that he’s working very hard to attain.
“He’s a player, like you saw last week, that at the end of the game has got that magic that can just win you a game of football out of nothing.
“We have seen that over time here, how he has adapted and adjusted to life at this level. For me, at the age he is he’s only going to get better and better. But consistency is important for him and that’s something that he’s starting to really show.”
Coutinho was a surprise omission from the latest Brazil squad named last week for a pair of friendlies in the United States in early September.
Rodgers discussed the news with the 23-year-old at Melwood and revealed why he was so impressed by the player’s reaction.
The boss explained: “I spoke to him at length on it and of course he’s disappointed, but straight away his only focus is on Liverpool – that was his thought, to continue to work here.
“He’s a really humble boy and he’s a really proud man for his country. So I’m sure that he’ll pick up the form that he’s shown here over the last 18 months and it won’t be too long before he’s back in it.”
Consistency is not just the target for Coutinho, but for the Reds collectively.
Newly-promoted Bournemouth make the trip to Merseyside this evening and Liverpool are determined to follow up the victory at Stoke with maximum points.
Rodgers added: “If you can make a good start and find consistency early on, that breeds confidence for you for the remainder of the season.
“That didn’t really kick in for us until October [last season], which is way too late really. So that’s the plan.
“We made a great start last weekend, with good organisation throughout the team. We didn’t have too many scares defensively; we obviously didn’t create as much as you would want but ended up winning the game with a clean sheet.
“It gets you off to a great start and validates a lot of the work that you do over the course of the pre-season. We now move onto the next game and that’s the only thought.
“If we get a victory against Bournemouth, that again increases the confidence level and the hope for consistency.”