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Max: Liverpool haven’t had the greatest starts to a season – how do you feel they will do after the festive period, and how important is it to get players in during the January transfer window?
Rush: “Every festive period is crucial; you play so many games in a short time. You come January and you see what you need to aim for. If you’re fourth or fifth, you aim for the top four. If you’re seventh or eighth, you’re looking to do that. Come the FA Cup tie, then you’re in a position to say, ‘do we need to push on’ and ‘what do we need to do’. That’s why the festive period is so important.
Again, you look at that situation whether you need to bring players or not. I always feel January can see panic buys take place, because you buy your best players in the summer.”
Max: Are you confident at all that Liverpool will finish in the top four?
Rush: “Well, that’s the aim. I’ve always said since the start of the season that for me, the aim is to finish in the top four and to win a trophy is an improvement. We saw people say that we came second last season so we should come second or first – no. I think Champions League, and supporters will love to see us win a trophy. I still say that. I think Chelsea and Manchester City are there. United, Arsenal, Liverpool and Tottenham are fighting for third and fourth. It was a bit of a blow with United winning, as they’re not ten points ahead. We still believe that after the festival period, it can all change.”
Max: We saw a different game against United, and I personally thought we played a lot better. We pressed a lot more too. Do you agree, in some sense?
Rush: “I would 100% agree. The chances we had against United – we weren’t creating those chances against Stoke, or Sunderland. Against Manchester United, Sterling could have had a hat-trick, and Balotelli could have had two. I rather see us create chances like that and not win, than creating no chances at all and drawing. I think playing Sterling down the middle seemed to work out well. He’s very quick and if he goes past one he’s in at goal. He scored two against Bournemouth and that will be very good for his confidence. As I said before, I rather see us create chances and miss than not create any chances at all.”
Max: You talked about confidence, and as a striker yourself, how important is confidence?
Rush: “It’s massive. It’s all about confidence. It’s on your mind sometimes. Like when I played against Everton, I went out knowing that I was going to score. That’s how it is. It goes down to confidence – if you go out there thinking you’re going to score, then that split second makes a difference. You don’t worry when you miss chances. You do one thing right so you get into them positions to do it. Sometimes when you lose confidence, you get into them positions and thinking ‘Oh I have to be 100% certain here’ and when you do that the chance is gone. Never be scared to miss.”
Max: Would you still say Brendan Rodgers is the right man for the job?
Rush: “Yeah, I would say so. He’s done well there, he’s signed new players and it takes time for them to gel. I like to feel he’s the right man. Sturridge could be like a new January signing. It sounds strange, but we got to keep him fit and if we do, it’s going to be like a new signing. We just got to stop leaking goals in, and if we do that, it would work. I’ve seen Brendan in the training ground, he’s hands-on and I think he’s the man for the job.”
Max: You’ve watched Rodgers in the training ground, but some people have suggested he’s lost the dressing room. Would you say that’s at all true?
Rush: “No, I wouldn’t say that at all. It’s just people looking for excuses. There’re always rumours when things don’t go well. Brendan knows what he’s doing. It’s amazing – if you get two wins, things change. It’s all about the confidence. So that’s completely not true.”
Max: While we’re on the topic about Liverpool conceding too many goals, what would your comments about the back line be?
Rush: “If you make those kinds of signings (Dejan Lovren), you have to work with them. You have to realize Liverpool is a massive club. No disrespect to Southampton, everyone’s eyes is on you even at training. Everyone has to cope with that pressure when you’re playing for Liverpool, who’s known all around the world.”
Max: You’re Liverpool’s top ever goal scorer with 346 goals which is just, amazing. How does it feel when people mention that?
Rush: “It’s a proud record to have; people say ‘records are meant to be broken’. But in my lifetime, I don’t think anyone will break that because it means being loyal to the club, it means scoring 30 goals a season regularly, and it means not getting injuries. I was lucky in that respect, I didn’t get many bad injuries. In my life time, I expect the record to still be there because I was at Liverpool for 15 years.”
Max: When you were a kid, how far do you think you would have reached in football?
Rush: “When I was a kid I was happy playing for Chester City, I was happy just doing that. Then I moved to Liverpool. When I get to see those players, I know I’m just as good as them and that’s when I want to improve. I was realistic. When I got to Liverpool, I thought ‘I was as good as these’, so you just work your way up. I didn’t set my sights high – I set them up reasonably. For me, it was just one step at a time.”
Max: You switched clubs and went to Juventus in 1988. Was life different there? Was the media completely different?
Rush: “It was a great experience for me there. The football was different. The training was different. Once I got through it, I enjoyed it. The culture was different. It was a happy ending there wasn’t a problem. Only the football was very defensive.”
Max: You’ve also had a managerial stint with Chester City for a short while. Do you think you will ever come back to management or coaching?
Rush: “I have my full license. I did a good job at Chester City. They wanted me to avoid relegation, and I managed to do that. I became a striker coach for Liverpool under Gerard Houllier. I’ll never say no. But I’m enjoying what I’m doing – travelling around the world, representing Liverpool Football Club and the Elite Performance Director for the Welsh FA. If something did come up, I would need to look at it, see if it’s better than what you’ve got, and that would need to take some doing with the job I have right now.”
Ian Rush is an 888sport #LastWord ambassador. Join the debate on Twitter @888sport, share your opinion on Facebook.com/888sportfans and read the best analysis on the betting brand’s dedicated blog. Sign-up now and claim £88 of free bets at 888sport.com. Liverpool are 15/8 to beat Arsenal with 888sport.com.
Max
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