Werner: Positive direction at Anfield
Tom Werner believes Liverpool's 'thrilling' win over Tottenham Hotspur is perfect proof of the positive course the club is currently navigating.
The Reds' chairman was at Anfield alongside principal owner John Henry on Tuesday to watch a relentless display by Brendan Rodgers' side.
Having twice seen an advantage pegged back in a pulsating contest, three points were secured when Mario Balotelli converted on 83 minutes.
The result narrowed the gap in the race for a top four finish in the Barclays Premier League and maintained the team's hugely impressive form.
Rodgers' charges have lost only two of their last 21 fixtures in all competitions, providing Werner with ample cause for optimism for the future.
He told the Liverpool Echo: "It was a thrilling victory against Tottenham this week. Obviously winning is extremely important to us.
"We know that that's the heart and soul of the club and we were very pleased. We are very pleased too with the progress the club has made in the last few weeks.
"We obviously had a very exciting season last year but we knew it was a challenge always to replace not just the talents of Luis Suarez but we had a number of players who were settling into life at Liverpool.
"We were disappointed with the injury that Daniel Sturridge sustained so we obviously got off to a start that was not as felicitous as we wanted.
"However, I think the team has really coalesced. I think Brendan's attacking style of football is extremely entertaining to our fans.
"And as we look at the table today - and I don't really want to get too far ahead of ourselves - we are only five points behind third placed Manchester United and four points behind Southampton.
"So I think we are certainly competitive and I'm optimistic that the recent play of the team will continue.
"I give great credit to Brendan and his coaching staff for what he has done. We have to look at not just the play each week, but the positive direction that is going on at the club."
Off the field, the redevelopment of Anfield's Main Stand is underway to add around 8,500 more seats and increase overall capacity to around 54,000.
On the subject, Werner explained his keen personal interest in ensuring the expansion combines modernity with the rich heritage and history of the club.
"We are very ambitious and we came in and thought there was a real challenge to solve what was a long-standing discussion about redeveloping Anfield," he said.
"We are building a new facility and part of our commitment to our fans is to make sure that we work diligently to leave the club in better shape than we found it when we walked into this.
"And we are very proud of the progress we have made. I was particularly engaged in making sure that the authenticity of the stadium is a focus for us.
"We have stadium designers who we have sent out, not only to work with the club historian to ensure that we retain the rich history of Liverpool, but we have photographs too from various facilities.
"We have photographs of the docks and photographs of the town hall. We want to make sure that when people walk into this facility in a couple of years that it not only will have the modern amenities that will make the experience enjoyable but that it will also remind people that we are part of a tradition that goes back to the 1890s.
"It's very important for us to acknowledge the history of this as we work on the project. John and I have made a lot of changes just this last week.
"We were even talking about the colour scheme and the brick and the feeling you get when you walk into the entrance.
"It's very important to me that when the fans enter this new Main Stand in a couple of years that they are pleased and reassured that it's not only a new facility - but one that reminds people of our rich history."