'Now let's keep moving forward'
Kenny Dalglish has dismissed talk of an 'exciting' race for fourth place and insisted that his sole focus is to move the club forward.
Speaking at a press conference at Melwood, the manager was keen to concentrate on the weekend's game against Arsenal rather than speculating about Premier League points and positions.
That sort of conjecture can wait until May, according to Dalglish, but for now, he is concentrating on what he knows will be a challenging clash against Arsene Wenger's men on Saturday afternoon.
"We'll just plod on," he said. "We'll add the points up and see where we get to. I've not looked at the points - I know we've got Arsenal Saturday and that's all we've got to do.
"It's an important game for us, it's an important game for Arsenal. They had a fantastic comeback last week at home to Tottenham, getting five goals in about 20 minutes. It's going to be difficult for us, so we'll make it difficult for them.
"I'm not worried about excitement (of the race for fourth); I'm worried about moving the club forward. And we've got a really difficult game against Arsenal on Saturday and we're going to go and play it and compete as best as we can.
"What happens will happen. But we're going to be competing. We love to win games more than we enjoy losing them. So it's the same incentive for us, now as it's always has been."
There was also time for some final reflection on Sunday's exhilarating Carling Cup triumph and the Scot insisted that it was only made achievable by a determined team effort which included almost every player in his squad.
"It's fantastic what the players have done," he said. "It's a new team and they've done it (won a trophy) in seven months with seven new players, and the older boys chipped in too.
"We said before the match, nearly everybody within the squad has made a contribution to the success and it was right they enjoyed it because they've all been there or thereabouts. That's something that helped us get the success.
"They've enjoyed it, they've been away with their national teams, and they'll get back to work for the league on Saturday. Once you've enjoyed something, you want to go back to it.
"For us, we were absolutely delighted because I think they got the reward they deserved. Throughout the whole tournament they played really well, had some difficult games and put on some great performances.
"We're happy for them and they know how they got there - with hard work, honesty and endeavour. If we want to go back again, we're going to need to show the same resolve."
Stuart Pearce's decision to appoint Scott Parker as captain for England's defeat at Wembley on Wednesday was also a talking point.
The decision came as a surprise - especially to Reds fans - some of whom believed Steven Gerrard was the perfect man to pick up the armband for the friendly.
And while Dalglish was keen to heap praise on his captain and stress Gerrard's value to Liverpool, he insisted that decisions taken regarding the England captaincy are none of his business.
"It's not my decision to make," said the boss. "All we know is the contribution he's made here, and the footage you've got of Steven Gerrard making a contribution to this football club. The pictures you've got, the games you've got and the clips you can show will speak much louder than anything I can say.
"Off the pitch, he's been a fantastic example as well. We're absolutely delighted with him as our captain and if somebody else does or doesn't pick him doesn't concern me.
"At the end of the day, nobody interferes with me and gives their opinions on what we should do and who should be our captain. They can make their own decisions about what they want to do - we just know how pleased we are with the service he's given us and the leadership he's given us. He's been fantastic for us."