Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers
wants his side to bounce back from their FA Cup semi-final defeat and
enjoy a strong end to their Premier League campaign, starting at West Brom.
Rodgers' side were well below par at Wembley on Sunday, losing 2-1 to
Aston Villa despite taking a first-half lead through Philippe Coutinho.
Seven points behind Manchester City with a game in hand, Liverpool
still harbour slim hopes of finishing in the top four, and Rodgers is
refusing to dwell on the defeat to Villa.
"Our ambition is to
be better and plan forward, that means bringing in players in the
summer. Plans to do that are well under way," he told reporters.
"We want to finish the season strong and take that momentum into the
following season. We have to fight for the top four until the very
end. If other clubs make mistakes then we have to ensure we're ready to
take advantage.
"The expectancy is huge, but I can't fault the
players for what they give. Last week was a disappointment but they have
worked very well in training."
Rodgers - buoyed by Jordan
Henderson signing a new long-term deal on Thursday - is still without
Mamadou Sakho (hamstring), Lucas Leiva (thigh) and Daniel Sturridge
(knock) for Saturday's trip to The Hawthorns, while Jon Flanagan and
Adam Lallana are nearing returns after respective knee and groin
problems.
Liverpool's hosts West Brom surprised many last time
out by travelling to a resurgent Crystal Palace and coming away with a
2-0 victory.
After three successive defeats - with 10 goals
conceded in the process - it was a welcome return to winning ways for
Tony Pulis' side, and assistant head coach David Kemp is looking for a
repeat showing this weekend.
"It was a big win for us after two
disappointing performances in the two previous home games against QPR
and Leicester," Kemp told the club's official website.
"So to
go there and produce the display we did was very good. I don't know if
it was a case of relief but we don't want to be losing games after what
happened in the previous two.
"We'd been pretty consistent
since we've been here and they were a shock to the system because they
were disappointing results and performances.
"We had to get
back on track and fair play to the lads, they did it. People start
writing you off - you have a couple of defeats and people start putting
the boot in.
"The lads showed great character as well to go and get the right result. We have to do that again."
Youssouf Mulumbu completes a three-match suspension on Saturday, while
Andre Wisdom is ineligible to face his parent club and Craig Dawson is a
doubt with a knee injury.
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