Glenn Johnson believes Liverpool's thrashing of Chelsea was just what they needed after the agony of their FA Cup final defeat.
Defender wants to end season on a high
Liverpool full-back Glenn Johnson believes their 4-1 thrashing of Chelsea at Anfield on Tuesday was just the tonic they needed after the agony of their FA Cup final defeat.
The Reds played the Blues on Merseyside just three days after they had met at Wembley Stadium, with Roberto Di Matteo's Chelsea lifting the trophy following a 2-1 victory.
The defeat was the latest in a number of disappointments for Liverpool this campaign, with the club consistently underperforming in the league, though they did have the joy of lifting the Carling Cup in February.
Their home form has been particularly poor, with just five league wins at Anfield all season heading into the Chelsea game.
Former Stamford Bridge defender Johnson admits the players were determined to get the cup final defeat out of their system as quickly as possible, as well as giving the home support something to cheer.
The 4-1 win appears to have done just that and Johnson is now targeting seventh place and overhauling near neighbours Everton in order to end a difficult season on a high.
"After a disappointing result and performance in the final that was exactly what was needed," Johnson told the club's
official website.
Pressure
"We wanted to start where we left off in the final and we did that. The lads started well, kept the pressure on and did really well for the full 90 minutes. There was only one team in it.
"Everyone would have preferred this result to come in the final but that's football.
"If we knew why we played the way we did for the first hour on Saturday we wouldn't have done it. Everyone wanted to play out of their skins in the final.
"No-one wants to go to a final and not perform. The important thing is we bounced back and now we need to push on.
"We all wanted to give the fans a performance in the last home game. It wouldn't have been nice to lose the last one. It's great to finish at home with a win and score a few goals.
"Now we have to try to get another three points at Swansea and try to finish as high as possible.
"We want to finish seventh and if we beat Swansea we've got a chance of doing that."
Poor results
Reflecting on the season as a whole Johnson admits there have been a number of reasons for the poor results.
However, the 27-year-old hopes Tuesday's win means they have put their poor run behind them and they can take positive momentum into the new campaign.
"At times it's been a frustrating season. Sometimes we haven't had the rub of the green. We've played well and not won at times," he added.
"You have to ride through the bad times and wait for the good times. We've got a good win and now we want to keep it going into the start of next season."
