Stevie keeps getting better - Hyypia
Aug 16 2005
By Chris Bascombe, Liverpool Echo
SAMI HYYPIA believes Steven Gerrard's formidable start to the season can take Liverpool to a higher level - providing he gets help from his team-mates.
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The defender admits there is a danger the Reds can rely too much on their inspirational skipper (above).
However, Hyypia says it's a general team improvement which will allow Gerrard to inflict maximum damage to opposition defences.
"Stevie's overall game is so good, if he continues to play like he is he's going to score a lot of goals this season," said Hyypia.
"We know he is one of the best midfielders in Europe, but we must remember it's still a team game and everyone has to be up for the challenge and play as well as we can.
"It doesn't always have to be Stevie who is the matchwinner. His skills and pace will help us win a lot of games, but there are 11 of us on the field and we must help Stevie to perform to the best of his ability."
While Gerrard's all-round display caught the eye in the opening day draw, Liverpool's flawless defending was rather overlooked.
Naturally, Hyypia took great satisfaction from the kind of clean sheet which was such a rarity on the road during the previous campaign.
Liverpool prevented the opposition scoring in just one Premiership away fixture last season. That was a 5-0 win against West Brom.
"From a defensive point of view the main thing is we didn't concede a goal, so we're happy with that," added Hyypia.
"We need to pay a lot more attention to our away games. We know we must improve on last season.
"We looked solid, good defensively and had a lot of good attempts at goal against Middlesbrough. It didn't go our way on Saturday, but the time will come when we'll win those games.
"It was disappointing we didn't get three points because we had loads of chances to score and didn't give away any opportunities.
"This gives us confidence. People may say a point is good, but at Liverpool we always play to win so there were a lot of disappointed faces in our dressing room after Saturday's game."
