'I've got more to give'
Jordan Henderson admits he was satisfied with his lively performance at Exeter City on Wednesday - but believes he is capable of producing much more in a Liverpool jersey.
The 21-year-old impressed in a wide-right role in the 3-1 Carling Cup victory at St James Park and feels it was perhaps the best of his three Reds appearances so far.
Nonetheless, Henderson isn't prepared to rest on his laurels as he aims to retain a place in Kenny Dalglish's first team.
"I'm sort of pleased with my performance against Exeter," said the midfielder. "I feel as though I've still got more to give, but I thought I worked hard and I felt fitter and hopefully I can keep getting better.
"I just want to play football, and I will play anywhere."
Henderson played a part in helping Luis Suarez and Maxi Rodriguez find the back of the net at Exeter, while Andy Carroll was also on target with his first of the season.
"It's nice to avoid the banana skin," he added. "We put a strong team out, and we showed Exeter respect. We're delighted to be through.
"There were a lot of positives to come out of the game. We were a bit disappointed to concede in the last 10 minutes, but we can take a lot from the game. It was a great finish from Andy Carroll for his goal, and I'm sure we'll see a lot more of them this season."
Henderson was part of a strong starting XI named by Dalglish in Devon, which as well as the likes of Suarez and Maxi also included Pepe Reina, Martin Skrtel, Raul Meireles and Charlie Adam.
The England U21 international believes the manager's team selection was indicative of how eager the Reds are to land the Carling Cup this season.
"We care about the Carling Cup a lot," said Henderson. "It's a chance to win a trophy and that's what we want to do at Liverpool - win trophies. Every competition we are in, we want to win it.
"That's one of the reasons I am here. When you come to a place like Liverpool, you're here to win trophies. We've made a good start to the season and we just need to keep pushing on.
"We are playing some good football at times. I think there is more improvement to come and we can gel better, but defensively we have improved.
"You can see we have a strong squad, and we want to win every game and that winning mentality is important. Liverpool are a huge club and have always won things and finished in the top four, and we're pushing on to do that."
An otherwise outstanding evening for Henderson was punctuated by a yellow card in the second half after he went down inside the area.
The No.14, however, is refreshingly honest about the incident and has no complaints about the booking.
He said: "The referee got that right. I overran it a bit, and while I didn't cheat or dive, I did go down far too easily."
Liverpool return to Barclays Premier League action on Saturday evening when Bolton visit Anfield - and Henderson is hoping the Reds can continue where they left off.
He said: "It's a big game on Saturday. Bolton did well against Man City last week and have a really good team, so it will be a tough game. But I'm sure we will put out another strong team."
