Jose Reina has always been the optimistic one – for several years, every year Liverpool’s title challenge would falter only for Reina to trot out the most optimistic of predictions, claiming that Liverpool were ‘still capable’ of winning the title that season. Even last year in January / February he was certain of Liverpool’s ability to catch up with the top three.
So when he says that Liverpool fans need to be ‘realistic’, you know Liverpool football club is in tough times.
Reina:
“We have to make sure that people don’t think of winning the league or being in the top four already at this moment. It is going to take a while.
We have got to get used to the new players and then the system. There are many good teams and our target is to be up there but we have to be realistic.”
When asked about Champions League qualification, Reina replied:
“I don’t know. We will find out at the end of the season what we can achieve. Of course, we have to challenge for being up there. Maybe it will take a while and people have to be patient. I know [that no one has patience]. But we are just asking for a little bit.”
Usually when a club falls out of the Champions League spots they have the ability to bounce back the next season, but Liverpool are in a fix – they have lost two world-class midfielders in two years, and haven’t seriously strengthened the squad, and are seeing Manchester City and Tottenham mount serious challenges for the fourth Champions League spot.
This season will see a more open race with many teams dropping points, but for once, Reina is right about expectations – Liverpool fans have to be realistic, fourth place isn’t guaranteed anymore.
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