Ayre: It was a significant step
Ian Ayre today explained why Liverpool's Carling Cup triumph has provided everyone at Anfield with a boost in confidence as he reiterated the club's hunger for success both on and off the field.
The Reds ended a six-year wait for silverware by beating Cardiff City to lift the trophy at Wembley 11 days ago, and the managing director believes it could prove a significant moment as they chase further glory.
Ayre told Liverpoolfc.tv: "The mood around the club has been fantastic, as you would imagine.
"I think people probably underestimated at the time the significance of that win to us as a football club.
"We've been through a lot in the last few years - our fans have been through a lot, everybody concerned with the club has been through a lot - and I think getting to our first new Wembley final had a lot of significance for lots of reasons other than just winning.
"It was a fairly tense, difficult and stressful game, but the euphoria at the end was some of the best I've ever seen in many years of watching Liverpool.
"In and around the city and the club, you definitely feel a spark and a spring in everyone's step and that's great because there are a lot of people who put a lot into it, and our fans definitely deserve it."
Ayre feels Liverpool's success in the tournament has not only proven the Reds are ready to compete for the game's top honours once again, but also provided the club with a positive knock-on effect off the pitch.
He added: "We've always said the way we perform on the pitch has a direct effect on the way we perform off the pitch, whether it's sponsors, community work or other things.
"We've had certain things that have gone on that people have put a negative slant on Liverpool - but this is a positive one and we should grasp it with both hands and move forward with it.
"We've shown we're ready to compete for trophies. We've won one and it means people see Liverpool are still up there and still a team competing for trophies. That's what we all need.
"On and off the pitch we need to be the best we can be. We're making great strides off the pitch, and now making great strides on the pitch. As long as those two things come together in tandem then the club has a great future."
In winning the Carling Cup, Liverpool ensured club owners Fenway Sports Group marked their first full season with silverware.
It also meant Kenny Dalglish lifted a trophy just over a year after returning to the Anfield helm.
Ayre feels the success is indicative of the positive strides forward the club has made in recent times, and he's optimistic it can provide the springboard for further honours.
He said: "We've always spoken about progress, so if you win one trophy, then progress is at least another one and then another - but nobody is getting carried away either.
"It's that old cliche the manager will use about it always being about the next game - and it is always about the next game.
"But having spoken to Kenny as recently as Tuesday, I think there's no doubt he feels the success of that (Carling Cup) is important and it was a great day for the football club and players.
"It gives everybody a little bit of belief. Confidence is everything in sport, just as it is in most things in life, and there is definitely some confidence built from that win and hopefully it takes us forward."
He added: "As a fan, it kind of felt like we're back. What that means we'll see - we'll see in how we step forward. We've always said we want to keep seeing progress.
"What was also great, and some of the best experiences I had that day, was talking to fans after the game at Wembley and around London.
"Just to see that spirit, happiness and fever we all know from great finals gone by, for me was the best bit - everybody feeling a little bit more inspired, a little bit more belief and as long as we keep on that track, I think we'll be going in the right direction."
Liverpool still have plenty to play for in the remainder of 2011-12, and will secure a return to Wembley should they overcome Stoke City in the FA Cup quarter-final at Anfield later this month.
The Reds also remain in the hunt for a Champions League berth, though Saturday's defeat to Arsenal left them trailing the fourth-placed Gunners by 10 points.
Nonetheless, Ayre is adamant no-one at Anfield is ready to throw in the towel on a top-four finish.
"That's always going to be the case at this football club," he stated. "It's a big hill to climb now, but every player in the dressing room, and certainly the manager, Steve Clarke, Kevin Keen and all of those guys, all want to do the best they can do.
"There's certainly nobody thinking anything less is good enough. They all want us to be the best we can be, and we'll challenge for every point, we'll challenge in every game and we'll do the best we can do. That's all you can ask of anyone."