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0 Comments Published by KL Ocs Kid on Saturday, August 11, 2007 at 7:49 PM.

HANSEN OPTIMISTIC ABOUT NEW SEASON Jimmy Rice 11 August 2007
	Kop legend Alan Hansen believes it is imperative Liverpool get as many points on the board as possible in the opening weeks of the season if they are to close the gap on Man Utd and Chelsea.
The centre-back turned pundit insists the Reds now have what it takes to be serious title challengers – but only if they have learned from mistakes made at the start of last season. "It really is imperative to get off to a good start. A couple of good performances and results against Villa and Chelsea will send confidence soaring through the club," the Scot told LFC Magazine. "You then take that momentum to Sunderland, which again is not a place you want to be going early in the season. "We have to avoid last year's situation. Losing five of our first six away games meant the championship was effectively over for Liverpool. What we all want is for us to be still in with a chance around Christmas and then as we get into March. "Of course, it would be the creme de la creme if we could win it, but first of all let's give ourselves a real chance of doing that by being in a position where the supporters turn up to Anfield in March with aspirations of still winning the Premier League." Hansen believes Rafa Benitez has assembled a far more formidable squad than in any of his three years at Anfield. "We've said for some time now that we keep relying on Steven Gerrard to get us out of trouble. The manager has said we need a variation of tactics and that is what he is trying to deliver. "The extra width provided by players such as Ryan Babel and Yossi Benayoun should provide tremendous variation. "If you're defending balls through the middle all the time, it becomes easy to play against. But if you can play it through the middle, wide, long and short, it becomes very difficult to play against. "Without a shadow of a doubt this is the strongest squad the manager has assembled in his three years at Liverpool. If you compare it to the one that went to Istanbul, it's like night and day. This is a much better side."