European Champions Liverpool need to strengthen their squad before the new season, says chief executive Rick Parry. Liverpool won’t just be looking for the best players, they’ll be looking for the best players with the best attitude.
Some of the players to have worn the famous Red shirt in the years since Liverpool’s last league success in 1990 have been a disgrace. Not neccessarily players with poor skills – just players with poor attitudes. Players that weren’t prepared to push themselves to the limit every game. Parry says that they are now about to go hunting for that right type of player: "Wherever the best players are, we will be going. We will be looking for players of quality and players who have heart. We need lads who are going to battle for 38 matches a season. Our first 11 is fine, but it’s when you get below that and you have to battle for points. That’s where we have fallen short. At the end of the season the league table doesn’t lie. We need a better squad, we need more strength and depth."
For Liverpool to use any of these new signings in the first qualifier for the Champions League, they’ve got to be registered with UEFA as Liverpool players by July 6th.
One of the first signingd could be Villareal goalkeeper Jose Reina. Reina would be one of four good-quality keepers on the Anfield books but doesn’t feel worried about this: "To transfer to the champions of Europe, and furthermore to a team with Liverpool’s history, isn’t something in everybody’s reach." He claims he was quick with a decision when told of the approach: "My answer was clear and it could only be a positive one."
He was watching with interest as Liverpool took their fifth European Cup in Istanbul and said: "I saw Dudek being very focused against Milan in the final, especially in extra time and in the penalty shoot-out. He was physically better than Dida at the time. They say I’m good when it comes to penalties, but it’s only a matter of intuition and watching a lot of football matches to see how opponents take them. The key is luck and deciding which side to dive."