'Win shows their hunger'
Steve Clarke believes Liverpool's dedication to landing the Carling Cup proves how eager the current squad is to be successful.
The Scot, whose positive impact since arriving as part of Kenny Dalglish's backroom set-up in January 2011 has been widely recognised and roundly praised, watched the Reds overcome tough visits to places like Stoke and Chelsea in reaching the final – not forgetting a two-legged encounter with Manchester City.
The players took the final step to trophy glory on Sunday, and first-team coach Clarke is sure this squad is capable of making days like that a regular occurrence.
"The win was good for the club, first of all, which is the most important thing," he told Liverpoolfc.tv. "It's good for the players because we're trying to develop something here for the future.
"If people think it reflects well on me, then that's great - but I think it reflects better and more so on the group of players we've got and how hungry they are to be successful."
Clarke is no stranger to collecting silverware. Towards the end of his playing career, he scooped FA Cup, League Cup and UEFA Cup Winners' Cup medals with Chelsea.
He then went on to work as an assistant to bosses at Newcastle and West Ham.
However, his most successful spell on the touchline came under Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge, where he was part of a team that claimed two Premier League titles, an FA Cup and two League Cups.
"I've come to a new club," said Clarke. "I've been here just over a year and already we've got a trophy, so that's good. It was great entertainment for the people watching. I was a little bit nervous on the bench.
"Once you get to penalties, the players themselves know the ones who want to take one and the ones who don't. It's down to them - it's not down to the coaching staff. When you get to that stage it's about having the nerve to get in front of the big audience and put the ball in the net.
"And fortunately, we managed to do it three times."
Even after such an exhilarating penalty shoot-out triumph, Clarke was still focused enough to give an honest assessment of how he felt the game panned out.
"I thought we played okay," he said. "It's always difficult - there was a lot of pressure on us.
"We got our noses in front eventually, but we stopped playing for the last six or seven minutes which allowed Cardiff to come back again. All credit to them - they never stopped.
"Then it goes to a penalty shoot-out and it's a lottery. But we showed good character and held our nerve and we've got the trophy now which is the main thing."