Friday, May 15, 2009

KUYT TARGETS REGULAR TITLE TILT

James Carroll 15 May 2009

Dirk Kuyt today warned Liverpool's Barclays Premier League rivals the Reds will again be serious contenders for the title next season.

Manchester United could clinch the league crown if they claim a point against Arsenal tomorrow, with Rafa Benitez's side not in action until Sunday at West Bromwich Albion.

However, regardless of the outcome of this weekend's fixtures, Kuyt believes Liverpool can be proud of their achievements this campaign and will be ready to fight it out for the title next term.

"This team can be proud of itself, and the way we have played this season no matter what happens in the final week, we can raise our heads high," said the Dutch forward.

"We have beaten the biggest teams, United and Chelsea, twice each in the league. We can say that there were too many draws in the home games, but you have to learn from it because we are a young team.

"We have a sense now, a really strong belief that we can go on and achieve what we want because the quality is there and the progress is there. If it is not enough this time we will definitely be there for the big push next season.

"The team is getting more experienced, and importantly, the players are now in it for the long term. Important players have agreed new contracts and they all believe they are part of something big. The belief is there."

Following his move from Feyenoord in 2006, Kuyt has firmly established himself as a key component in Benitez's first-team plans.

The 28-year-old has had more than his fair share of critics at times, but even from a young age, he has always been desperate to prove the detractors wrong.

He said: "When I was a kid I didn't get picked up by a professional club, and was just an amateur so I could never have dreamt that I would be part of a club like this.

"I was with an amateur club called Quick Boys and my dream was simply to play in the first team. So to be here now is beyond my wildest dreams.

"When I first started my career, people tried to tell me I wouldn't be a professional, I wouldn't play for a big club in Holland, I wouldn't reach the national team, I wouldn't play for an important club in Europe, and I wouldn't survive at Anfield.

"And I have always proved them wrong, I have always reached the next level. I am still getting better, still reaching my targets and still learning every day.

"Every step along that way I have had another dream and have achieved it. So I will not stop dreaming until we get what we want with Liverpool, and that is the title, this season or next."

Dirk's never-say-die attitude and his seemingly endless energy has drawn plenty of plaudits, and he accepts he is perhaps not your stereotypical Dutch footballer.

"I have heard the jokes that I can't be from Holland, and I know that I am not a typical Dutch player. Maybe I am different to the typical Dutch character too," he said.

"I'm from a fishing village where you have to work really hard, at sea five or six days a week, come home for one day and then be off working even for weeks at a time, so the mentality comes from that I think.

"That is my character, that is what the Liverpool fans see. But if you are talking football-wise then I am definitely not a typical Dutch player.

"You think of them being technically gifted, like Cruyff and Van Basten, Bergkamp and Van Persie - I am just a different kind of player.

"I do like to work very hard every game, but I enjoy myself, and maybe I'm a little more than just hard work.

"I am happy with what I have achieved so far with my own style, and I am still very hungry to do better. I still have the feeling that I can progress, get better and achieve more."

Having lost his father in the summer of 2007, Kuyt has overcome personal heartache to assert himself as one of the Premier League's most effective wide-men.

"I am proud that my father was able to watch me play here at Liverpool in my first year, and the last game he ever watched was the Champions League final which was at the highest level in one of the biggest finals and I scored," he added.

"His wish was that I stay here as long as possible, and that is my wish too. I want to be part of what is happening at Anfield.

"The proudest moment for me was signing for this club, being part of one of the biggest clubs in the world, and of course my father was proud of that fact.

"It is a famous club, one of the biggest in the world, and to be part of it with such a great history for me is something you want to be around as long as possible.

"Every year I am here I am proud. Every year you have to fight for your place and every year there are better and better players coming here to take your place, so I am proud to still be here and to have a new three-year contract."

0 comments:

Post a Comment