Clyne: I joined the club for chances like these
The prospect of playing in cup finals was a huge draw for Nathaniel Clyne in joining Liverpool and now the defender wants to help his side achieve the feat in the Capital One Cup by overcoming Stoke City.
Jürgen Klopp’s side welcome the Potters to Anfield this evening for the second leg of their semi-final, with the Reds a goal up in the tie courtesy of Jordon Ibe’s effort at the Britannia Stadium earlier in January.
A draw or victory for Clyne and co would book a place in the Wembley showpiece next month – against either Everton or Manchester City – and bring a chance for the club to claim a first trophy since 2012.
On a personal level, it would also back up the England international’s decision to make the move to Merseyside last summer in the search of such opportunities.
The manager revealed at his pre-match press conference that the full-back is a fitness doubt for the game, but Clyne will do everything in his power to make a difference if he is available.
“This is why I’m here – to win games and lift trophies,” Clyne told Liverpoolfc.com.
“That’s what every player wants to do, to look back at the end of your career and see how many trophies you have won. That’s what I’m looking to do. Hopefully in my time here I can lift a few trophies.
“It’s the reason I signed up. With the players we’ve got here and the size of the club, it’s definitely doable. It has been a long time – it is overdue now.”
With Stoke needing to score at least once at Anfield tonight, the onus will be on Mark Hughes’ side to attack Liverpool, which Clyne hopes will play into the home team’s hands.
The No.2 added: “We have got lots of fast players on the counter-attack and with our quality up front, we can definitely punish them when they try to get forward to get back into the game.”
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