Reina Needs No Rest

Pepe Reina today spoke of his
determination to savour Europa
League success with Liverpool
this season - and insisted he
has no interest in taking a
break from first team action.
Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has
admitted he will be ringing the
changes for this evening's
opening group encounter
against Steaua Bucharest,
especially with Sunday's clash at
Manchester United looming large
on the horizon.
But, far from wanting a rest
ahead of the Old Trafford
showdown, Reina is only
interested in playing his part in
helping the Reds get their Europa
League group campaign off to a
winning start.
"It is always lovely to play in
Europe and get some games in
different places," said Reina.
"This is important for everyone
here. We need to be in there,
playing in the group stages. The
Europa League is getting better
all the time and the teams lining
up in it are really strong.
"As a Liverpool player, you know
that you have got to play twice a
week. Nothing else will do. When
you have midweek games, it is
easier to prepare for the
weekend. You get into a rhythm
and I cannot see myself not
playing in a midweek.
"Unfortunately we cannot be in
the Champions League but we
have to forget about it and put
everything we have into making
the Europa League a success. We
were desperate to get through
against Trabzonspor and took
our chances on the
counterattack.
"It is always good to react when
you are 1-0 down. The players
showed great character. We have
done very well. We knew the
crowd and the stadium would
make it difficult but, by the way,
they were a decent team.
"We were expecting it to be hard
work but we reacted really well
in the second half and really
deserved the victory at the end.
The laser that was shone in my
eyes? It can happen in that kind
of stadium. They know all the
tricks but fortunately they made
an announcement and it was
okay."
After an uncharacteristic opening
day slip against Arsenal, Reina
has quickly returned to his very
best form and made two
incredible saves at Birmingham
on Sunday to ensure the Reds left
St Andrews with a point.
"Any good team starts from the
defence," said Reina. "If we can't
win a lot of games, the main
thing we have got to do is make
sure we don't lose. You need
good bricks when you start to
build a big house and every good
team has got to be solid for
starters.
"I was happy with both the saves
at Birmingham but, like I said, the
most important thing was
helping the team. As a keeper,
you know you can cost your
team two points, like I did
against Arsenal on the opening
day, or sometimes you are lucky
and can help them a bit more.
"We have got Manchester United
coming up but the Europa
League is first and that is where
we are concentrating."