Hodgson hails Reds response

Roy Hodgson
12 April 2012

Liverpool manager Roy Hodgson was pleased with the way his side coped without the inspirational qualities of captain Steven Gerrard in the 3-0 victory over West Ham at Anfield.

The match was won in the first half after goals from Glen Johnson, Dirk Kuyt - from the penalty spot - and Maxi Rodriguez, taking the Reds within three points of fourth place currently occupied by Bolton. West Ham were woeful in the first half and improved only slightly after the break.

"It was important to win and I think we did it in some style," said Hodgson. "We knew what we had to do. We were concerned we would have to do it without Steven and Lucas Leiva (who was suspended) but the players selected did really well."

He added: "We got the three points we needed and we got it with not only a good performance but a thoroughly professional performance.

"I don't think the words comfortable and relaxed are words us managers use too often but if you're not comfortable 3-0 up at half-time and they've not had a shot on goal you're never going to be."

Johnson, who missed the last three matches with a groin injury, was criticised by Hodgson nearly a fortnight ago for failing to display the form which had made him an England international.

Apart from his goal, the right-back showed that had taken on board what had been said and was starting to rediscover that form.

"It was very good. I think Glen profited from the fact he has been obliged to undergo an enforced rest with the injury but has been fit and trained hard all week," added the Reds boss.

"He was full of running, enthusiasm and energy and scored the important first goal.

"His performance, as for all of the back four, was pretty-nigh perfect."

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in