[lfc-news] Carra: Let's savour the moment! - Echo

Liverpool Echo, 25 Feb 2005
Let's savour the moment!
EXCLUSIVE by Chris Bascombe, Liverpool Echo

LIVERPOOL hope they'll be heralding their latest new dawn by the time dusk settles in Cardiff on Sunday.

But for at least one Anfield star, securing and savouring the moment of victory is far wiser than looking too far into the horizon.

Carragher can remember the hype surrounding Gerard Houllier's first trophy win in 2001, a success which many thought would kickstart a freshera of glory but ultimately ended in under-achievement.

The stunning win over Manchester United in 2003 also failed to inspire a revival as the Reds slumped to fifth in the Premiership, missing out on Champions League qualification.

If Rafa Benitez holds the League Cup aloft on Sunday, there are sure to be predictions of another imminent Anfield resurgence.

For Carragher, while doing his best to make such a prophecy come true, each win must be celebrated on its own merits rather than presented asmerely a refreshing starter.

"Obviously, I hope this will be the first of many trophies and finals under the new manager, but as a player you never want to get cocky andassume that's going to happen," said Carragher.

"You never know what can happen in football. You've got to enjoy every final you get to because you don't know if or when the next one is goingto come along.

"I feel lucky to have played in quite a few for Liverpool now and I've enjoyed every one. These are the games you look forward to more than anyother as a player.

"Personally, I'm glad we're playing a top side in the final again. With all due respect to Birmingham, who we played in 2001, I think everyoneprefers it when you're playing a side like Chelsea in Cardiff.

"It makes it a bigger occasion and it's also a lot sweeter if you win. I know it felt a lot better beating Manchester United in 2003 because itwas a such massive game."

History can distort the ecstasy felt by players and fans on that last glorious visit to Wales.

Carragher is one of those who finds it distasteful when the successes of the previous regime are devalued because it never delivered the ultimateprize.

As far as he's concerned, the memories of victories in 2001 and 2003 were inspirational moments which can give the players and fansconfidence this weekend.

He insists the win in 2001 did inspire an new period of success, but one which only fell short because of the club's extraordinarily high standards. "When we won the League Cup in 2001 we hoped it would be the start of an improvement which would take us to the championship, but it wasn't tobe," said Carragher.

"But we still did very well in a lot competititons afterwards. Under Gerard Houllier we won virtually every competition except the title. The problem was, at a club like Liverpool the Premiership ' s always goingto be the main objective.

"I'm sure if we win the League Cup this time the new manager will be thinking in the same way as we were back then and looking for this to bethe start.

"His ambition is to make sure we compete regularly for the title in the future. He knows the main thing at Liverpool is to win the league. "This season is just the start for him, which is why it's fantastic we're in afinal."

Symbolically, victory over Chelsea would be appropriate. While Jose Mourinho can depend on Russian roubles to inspire his quest for silverware, Benitez must rely on less materialistic values.

Convincing the players they can become consistent winners has become a recurring theme of his reign to date, and it's clear the manager hasfound an able student in Carragher.

"It's clear to everyone how determined the manager is to bring the good times back here and one of the things he's always talking about to usall the time is believing we can be winners," he says.

"We know we haven't got the money to compete financially with some other clubs in the Premiership, but what we can become is a great team.

"We've seen what the manager achieved in Valencia where it wasn't all about big signings and well known players, but everything was about the team. Anyone who played against them couldn't find a weakness. They were one of the most complete teams you could get and he's trying to make itthe same here.

"We're slight underdogs going into this fixture, but it's a similar situation to the one we went into last time when we faced Manchester United.

"United were going for the title and we ended up finishing fifth, but our performance showed if you play to your potential on the day, itdoesn't matter who you're playing.

"I expect it to be a very tight game. At Stamford Bridge they were worth more than a 1-0 win, but at Anfield I'm confident we could have gone on to win the game if it wasn't for the fact Xabi Alonso was injured.

"We were the better side at that stage and were very unlucky not to get something from the match. We'll take a lot of confidence from thatperformance."