Clarke hails Bellamy influence
Steve Clarke has praised the contribution to the Liverpool side of Craig Bellamy as the Reds prepare to face Manchester City in the first leg of the Carling Cup semi-final at the Etihad Stadium tonight.
The Welsh star yesterday picked up the Standard Chartered Player of the Month award for December, and Clarke admits it was richly deserved.
"Craig has done great for us," Clarke told Liverpoolfc.tv. "He is in a really good moment and his contribution is there for everyone to see.
"We are all really pleased for him, and to be fair we knew what we were getting when we brought him back to this club.
"I worked with Craig for a short time at West Ham, Kevin Keen worked with him before, and we knew the type of player we would be getting.
"We felt he could make a big contribution to the squad and that's what he has done and continues to do which is great.
"We have got some big games coming up this month and that's what everybody is involved in football for. We are looking forward to the challenge and hopefully we can get some positive results."
Liverpool now face City for the second time in the space of a week, and Clarke insists the squad are eager to show their true colours after last week's defeat.
He said: "If you sit and analyse the game, which we've done quite a lot since, we have shown the players some things they did quite well during the game and some things obviously they didn't do very well.
"Anybody who watched the game and is honest I think would say that 3-0 was not a fair reflection of the game, but it's up to us to make sure we turn that around and we do well.
"We have to play better, I don't think there's any doubt about that, and if we can find that extra bit of quality and add a little bit more to our game then I'm sure we will get a good result.
"When you play against any of the top teams, and we consider ourselves to be a top team, the fewer mistakes you make the better and obviously you have to try and produce moments of quality that can turn the game.
"Obviously an away goal would help but there's no need to put ourselves under extra pressure to get an away goal.
"If you are talking about how we get a positive scoreline to bring back to Anfield for the second leg then I think somewhere along the line we probably will score a goal, and that's the way we have to approach it."
In the two games against City so far in 2011-12, England's No.1 Joe Hart has been in inspired form making several outstanding stops to deny Andy Carroll and co, and while Clarke has a lot of respect for the stopper he is confident Liverpool have the firepower to cause Roberto Mancini's side problems.
"He is the England No.1 and he has that for a reason, but it's up to us to test him," he added.
"Certainly in the league game at Anfield we tested him and he made some fantastic saves. We can put him under pressure and keep asking questions of him, and if we can continue to do that to opposition goalkeepers then eventually the ball will go into the net."
The assistant boss was also keen to pay tribute to the outstanding support Liverpool receive home and away, and believes it could prove a key factor in helping the Reds try to reach Wembley.
Clarke said: "The fans are always important to us. They are loyal and always back the team 100 per cent. We have an extra allocation for this game as well so they will go up there and make a lot of noise, and hopefully we can give them something to shout about this time.
"The second leg I'm sure will take care of itself when we get there, but what we have to do first is make sure we put in a good performance in the first leg and make sure the tie is nicely balanced for the return game."
City lost for the first time at home this season when Manchester United knocked them out of the FA Cup on Sunday, but Clarke doesn't expect that result to have any bearing on this semi-final clash.
"None of the top teams like to lose so they will be hurting a little bit from that, but if you watched the game I thought their performance with 10 men was really good, and the manager highlighted after the game that even though they lost they could come away from it with a lot of credit and I think that's true.
"But we have to stop thinking about Manchester City and concentrate on ourselves and make sure we do what we are good at and play to our maximum. If we do that then I think it will set the tie up for a fantastic second leg at Anfield.
"This is why you come to a club like Liverpool because you want to be involved in the later stages of a cup competition. We are there in the Carling Cup, hopefully we can do the same in the FA Cup and we have to keep churning out wins in our bread and butter which is the Premier League.
"We know that in every game we go into there is a lot expected of us but we can handle the expectation."