Clarke: He's doing a great job
Steve Clarke today lauded the job Paul Lambert is doing at Norwich City - and warned that Liverpool can expect a tough examination on Saturday tea-time.
The two Scots know each other from their time at St Mirren and over the last few years Clarke has admired from afar as Lambert has led the Canaries to successive promotions.
"Paul was on schoolboy forms when I was in the team," the first-team coach told Liverpoolfc.tv. "We knew each other but we didn't play together.
"I think he's doing a great job. Norwich had fallen a long way into League One, which is further down than they should be. They're a club with a good catchment area, they've always been a competitive club.
"Paul's galvanised them and got them back in the Premier League, which is a great achievement in itself."
Norwich sit ninth in the Barclays Premier League and for Clarke their task will now be to ensure they don't follow the example set by newly promoted sides like Hull City and Blackpool over recent years when flying starts have been followed by an unceremonious drop down the table.
"They've had a good start and are in a pleasing position in the league," said Clarke.
"Over the years we've seen a lot of the teams who've come up, with their freshness and enthusiasm, they start well, and they tend to find that as the season goes on it becomes a little bit more difficult for them. But so far Norwich have done a great job."
Click on the image below to watch Clarke on Norwich
While some would consider Liverpool playing a team that has just left the Championship to be the clichéd home banker, Clarke is aware that it is not always that easy.
"They are used to winning, don't forget," he said. "They came up from League One and came through the Championship last year, so they're on a winning run if you like, they are used to winning all the time.
"They come with great confidence and with no pressure, because no one expects them to get anything at Anfield, and the pressure is on us.
"But the message for us is the same as always - we have to play our game and impose ourselves on them.
"That's the way it should be. Any club I've been at, I've always tried to concentrate on the strengths of the team I'm working with, and hopefully that will be enough."