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| NEWS STORY |
RIISE EYES DOUBLE EURO SUCCESS
Paul Hassall
17 March 2008
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John Arne Riise has lamented the dropped points that have cost Liverpool a late season title charge but believes there is still much to play for and has set his sights on securing a sixth European Cup crown in Moscow.
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The Norwegian full-back admits the 11 draws Rafael Benitez's side have accumulated this season have cost them any hope of landing a first Premier League title.
But with a quarter-final meeting with Arsenal in Europe on the horizon and a tight battle for fourth place with Everton likely to go to the wire, he feels it could yet turn out to be a successful season for the Reds.
"We know there is no way we are winning the league this year so we have tried to focus on doing well in the Champions League," he told Liverpool's official matchday programme.
"With that we have to get into fourth place in the league. That isn't going to be easy this season. Everton and Aston Villa have done well, plus one or two other teams will not consider themselves out of it yet.
"We know that we are in a fight here but that is when we do our best. We just have to prove that again."
Liverpool currently sit eight points off the Premier League pacesetters having played a game more. It is a statistic that frustrates Riise, as he feels the Reds would still be in with a shout had they turned just a few of those draws into the wins they had expected.
"We've drawn too many, it's as simple as that," he said.
"We've drawn too many games 0-0, 1-1 or whatever. That's not good enough if you want to win the league, we know that.
"For now, it is too late to talk about what might have been.
"We can only think about what we can do and that is finish fourth and try to win the Champions League."
While dropped points at home against the likes of Birmingham, Wigan and Aston Villa have played their part in Liverpool's inability to challenge for the title, Riise believes it is not the only reason, and points to a poor record against the top three as another factor for why they are lying in fourth place.
"To win the league you have to be winning all these games that we've drawn and then also beat the other top teams. That has been a problem for us too, in that we haven't beaten the top three enough in the past few seasons.
"We know what we are doing wrong. We just have to start doing it right."
For more information on the club's matchday programme and weekly magazine, and to subscribe online now, click here>>
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