Florent Sinama-Pongolle says the situation he found himself in at Kenilworth Road on Saturday night brought back memories of the Champions League group game win that set the Reds on their way to winning the competition itself. In both games Flo was brought on as a sub, in both games Liverpool had a mountain to climb. Looking back to Saturday, the French youngster said: “When I was asked to go on at 3-1, all I was thinking about was getting a goal and repeating what happened against Olympiakos last season. It proved to be a similar situation. Just like then, we needed three goals in a short time. I knew if we continued to work hard enough we’d create chances and if one fell to me, I had to take it.”
According to Flo, his brace was a first for him in a Red shirt: “This is the first time I’ve scored twice in the same game for Liverpool. It’s funny because I was only speaking to my friends earlier this week and saying I hadn’t scored more than once in a match for Liverpool. Now it’s happened.”
Still in the early days of the winter transfer window, Flo finds himself as one of many Reds players linked with a move away from Anfield. The player very nearly became a Lyon player during the summer when Gerard Houllier reportedly made moves for the forward. This was going on without the involvement of Liverpool FC, but once Rafa BenÃtez got wind of the situation he brought the recently injured player into his squad for the Champions League qualifier, bringing him on as a late sub to ensure he was cup-tied for that competition at least. As the season has gone on the Frenchman had been finding his chances to play coming few and far between, but he’s not unhappy at Anfield: “I just want to take any chances which come my way. I’m not thinking of the next game, or the game after that. I’m just enjoying every moment I can and trying not to look too far ahead. I just want to focus on doing my best in training this week and hopefully I will be involved against Tottenham.”
Rafa BenÃtez has talked constantly about the importance of confidence for his players this season, and Flo says what happened on Saturday boosted his self-belief: “It gives me confidence that the manager looked towards me when he needed a goal. As a striker, goals give you more belief so I’d like to build on this.”
Pongolle says he loves Anfield: “I love Liverpool and I love the supporters.” He says he’ll now chat to the boss to see whether any of the speculation is true, but he hopes not: “I need to speak to the manager, but if he tells me he needs me and wants me to stay, I will do. I’m still a young player and I hope a game like Saturday can be a turning point for me. I’m still confident I’ll be at Liverpool beyond January.”