Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers insists the Anfield club must win the FA Cup to prove that they are making progress after a poor season in the Premier League, according to The Daily Star.
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Following back to back defeats against Manchester United, Liverpool have gone from fighting for a top four spot to Europa League contenders, but setting up a Wembley semi-final clash in the FA Cup against Aston Villa would present a huge chance of winning the trophy.
Rodgers said, “I don’t want to go down the route of saying that it would save our season.
“Our objective was to win a trophy. I think if we didn’t get in the top four and we didn’t have a trophy this year, we ourselves would be disappointed.
“I think certainly the FA Cup would give us a great boost as a team with lots of young players and players coming into the club. That’s the expectancy we want.
“We want to be able to be challenging every year. That was the key thing for me, to get the group challenging at the top end of the league and for trophies.
“The FA Cup would mark a good step forward for us”
The Northern Irishman knows he will have to lift his squad though, following two damaging defeats which have all but put an end to the Merseyside team’s hopes of Champions League qualification.
“The last two results and performances have been disappointing but there is still so much left in the season for us,” Rodgers added.
“The seven league games we have left offer 21 points and you never know – the teams above us still have difficult games to play.
“The mathematics of it show it will be difficult, but it can be done.”