Kuyt - No confidence crisis

Dutch forward believes Reds will hit the goal trail

By Elliot Ball   Last updated: 27th January 2009   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Kuyt - No confidence crisis

Kuyt: High in confidence

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Liverpool forward Dirk Kuyt insists confidence remains high in the squad despite three successive draws.

Sunday's FA Cup fourth-round tie with Everton ended all square, while the Reds have taken just two points from their last two Premier League matches allowing Manchester United to take over at the top of the table.

After scoring eight goals in two matches against Bolton and Newcastle after Christmas, Rafa Benitez's side have found the net just twice in three matches against Premier League opposition.

Both goals came from Steven Gerrard, and the rest of the squad are struggling to supplement their captain's efforts, with striker Fernando Torres still working his way back to full fitness after hamstring trouble.

However, Kuyt believes the situation is not as bad as some critics are making out.

Unlucky

"Confidence is okay. We know we have the ability to win every game but sometimes you are unlucky," said the Holland international.

"This is football. We just have to keep going and look forward.

"We dropped points that we didn't want to do - because if you are Liverpool you want to win every game - but there is no time to stand still and think about things.

"We showed against Everton we were the better team but sometimes we have to kill the game and we know we can.

"I'm sure it will come, it came before. Sometimes you are unlucky and the next time you will be lucky.

"We are still in the FA Cup, we are still near the top of the league and we are still in the Champions League so we are doing very well and we have to stay positive."

Stern test

Liverpool meet seventh-placed Wigan on Wednesday knowing they face an equally tough test as they did against their Merseyside rivals at the weekend.

The Latics have just sold striker Emile Heskey to Aston Villa, as well as losing key midfielder Wilson Palacios to Tottenham, and Kuyt believes they will miss their target man.

"Heskey is a great player, an England international, so it will be a big loss for them but they still have some good players," he added.

"I think every game is difficult. We just have to believe in our own strength and we do that so we go for three points there.

"They have some good players and the manager (Steve Bruce) has done a really good job since he has come and we have respect for them."