Spearing Ready For More Starts At Liverpool

ANFIELD had fallen into a stupor,
the atmosphere reflecting
Liverpool ’s laboured passing,
when Jay Spearing decided
enough was enough.
With Steaua Bucharest
threatening to wrestle the
impetus away from the Reds in
their opening Europa League
fixture, Spearing was anxious to
rally his team-mates so he
exhorted a few words that were
straight to the point.
“Come on boys, eh!” the young
midfielder bellowed, looking
around at his colleagues and
clapping his hands together,
trying to gee those in Red out of
their malaise. “We’ve got to
******* pick this up! Come on!”
Instantly he got a response. The
section of The Paddock and Main
Stand that was within ear shot
cheered and applauded, while
Liverpool ’s play upped a notch
before the interval, giving them a
platform to attack in the second
period.
It was encouraging to see.
Desperate to make his first start
at Anfield a memorable one,
Spearing succeeded in achieving
his aim and, for good measure,
capped an encouraging display
by providing the pass for David
Ngog to wrap up the 4-1 win.
He smiles now when reminded
of his outburst but, as he
prepares for tonight ’s Carling Cup
third round tie with League Two
minnows Northampton, it is clear
Spearing feels much more
confident about his role in the
squad.
“I just wanted to get a couple of
touches early on,” said Spearing.
“The more the game went on,
the more involved I became. The
cheer? I didn ’t actually get on to
it when it happened. Now I think
back, though, I remember there
being some applause.
“All I wanted to do was make
sure we asserted ourselves. We
had started off well but let them
get back in and I thought that
we needed to sharpen up a bit
more and show our quality. We
did that towards the end of the
first half.
“I know there were more
experienced players around me,
players who have been around
for a long time, but I just had to
be myself. What ’s important now
is that I forget about that game
and look forward to the future. ”
While the Carling Cup might have
its detractors, Spearing will not
say anything bad about it as it
was 12 months ago tonight that
he made his first start for
Liverpool in this tournament,
helping Rafa Benitez’s side to a
1-0 win over Leeds United.
His situation has changed
considerably since then and, if he
maintains his progress, there is
every chance that there will be
more outings like last Thursday;
significantly, Roy Hodgson has
been thrilled with his progress
and said he did “exceptionally
well” against Steaua.
True, the biggest hurdle has yet
to be cleared – being a squad
regular is completely different to
being a first team regular – but
his spirits and confidence are
soaring and the 21-year-old from
the Wirral is ready to meet the
challenge head on.
“Last week was a massive
experience for me,” said
Spearing. “I’ve had 20 minutes
here and there but I’d never
been able to walk out when
‘ You’ll Never Walk Alone’ has been
playing. As a local lad, that’s what
I have been working hard for
and thankfully it has come off.
“Obviously I have got to say
‘thanks’ to the boss for picking
me and it was great that we got
the result and performance to
match. It ’s been a big year. The
(two-month) loan spell (with
Leicester City) really helped me, it
gave me a lot of confidence and I
was able to believe in myself.
“I grew up a bit more and
became more of a man in terms
of football. Living on my own in a
hotel for two months was also
an experience I had to get used
to. But it was all well worthwhile
and this summer it was like
starting with a clean slate
because of the new manager.
“We have got to prove to him
that we are capable of sticking
around. Hopefully I can keep
doing that in the next year. The
task seems a bit easier because
I ’ve got much more experience
now. I feel I know now what I
have got to look for and improve
on. ”
Having been forced to sit and
suffer in the directors box at Old
Trafford on Sunday as Liverpool
lost to their fiercest rivals,
Spearing will be in thick of the
action this evening in what will
be a much changed side.
Yet though Jamie Carragher and
Steven Gerrard will have the
night off, the team will still have a
local heartbeat as, apart from
Spearing, Martin Kelly will be on
the right side of the defence,
trying to emulate their peers.
Gerrard once told Spearing,
when offering him some advice
before he was playing for the
reserves, that he should make
sure he showed he was the best
player on the pitch and those
words will be ringing in his ears
tonight.
“We want that to carry on,” he
said. “It’s hard for us to become
the next Stevie or Carra – they
have had magnificent careers –
but we have got to look to try
and do what they have done.
Myself, ‘Kells’, all the English lads.
We all want to break into the first
team.
“That’s why we will be taking
this game as serious as we did
against United. This is a chance
for some other lads to impress
and make sure we get into the
next round. There would be
nothing better than to get all the
way to Wembley.
“We know Northampton are
going to come here and have a
big go. We have just got to make
sure we do the job properly. This
competition is important to us
and we want to go as far as we
can. That ’s what we are aiming
for.”