by account deleted by request » Mon Feb 04, 2008 10:15 am
JAVIER HOPING THE END IS NIGH
Jimmy Rice 04 February 2008
Javier Mascherano is hopeful a deal to keep him at Anfield will be completed this week.
The Argentine international also claims the bond he has developed with the Kop is a major factor in his desire to stay on Merseyside.
"It's not finished yet but I am hoping to stay here," Mascherano told Liverpoolfc.tv. "I have a lot of confidence that after the next week I will be able to say, 'Everything is right and I am staying here in Liverpool.'
"We now need to wait. We are very close but we need to talk again next week. I think everything will be okay. I've waited a long time, so I can wait one week more.
"The fans like me and I love the fans. They are great and that's the reason I want to stay here."
The midfielder was speaking after the 3-0 victory over Sunderland on Saturday, Liverpool's first league win of 2008.
While the result eventually proved emphatic, the goalless first-half in which few chances were created was indicative of the Reds' post-Christmas form.
So, were there more harsh words from the gaffer at half-time, as reportedly happened during the FA Cup win over Havant nine days ago?
"No. We knew we would have chances in the second half, so we weren't feeling so bad at half time," said Mascherano. "We knew we could do something to win the game. It was just important we kept calm.
"At half time we were told to keep going and work hard. We weren't playing really, really well, but it wasn't so bad either. We had to keep working together.
"The difference was that we scored early in the second half and you could see that gave us a lot of confidence. Once you've scored, you become calmer."
Mascherano admits he and his teammates owed that second-half performance to the fans following five league games without a win.
He also believes it will have a big impact on the squad's state of mind going into next Sunday's trip to Stamford Bridge.
"We owed the fans a result," he said. "We've played badly recently but now we can have confidence again. We can go into the international break happy and then we have a big game against Chelsea.
"It's a difficult place to go, so the win over Sunderland was important because it means we can go to London with a lot of confidence. We can play with confidence again.
"We are close to fourth spot again – just one point behind. But now we have to keep this level."
lfc.tv
Fingers crossed, it sounds promising
, Defoe has to be the best striker available for that amount
