Pepe Reina pleads for patience
Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina has pleaded with the fans of the English Premier League club to have patience as the club settles into a new regime.
The Anfield side’s co-owners, George Gillett and Tom Hicks, have been looking to sell up since earlier this year, but have yet failed to find a buyer to take over the club and its significant debts.
With that financial hangover, new boss Roy Hodgson has struggled to improve his squad over the summer. Reina has urged the Reds’ fans to temper their expectations for this season.
He told reporters that, "We have to make sure that people don't think of winning the league or being in the top four already at this moment. It is going to take a while. We have got to get used to the new players and then the system. There are many good teams and our target is to be up there, but we have to be realistic.”
Liverpool is aiming for a top-four place this season after missing out on UEFA Champions League football this term. Reina has urged the club’s fans to understand Liverpool’s situation and that a top-four position might be out of the players’ reach this season.
He said that, "Is a Champions League spot realistic this season? I don't know. We will find out at the end of the season what we can achieve. Of course, we have to challenge for being up there. Maybe it will take a while."
Reina has pleaded with supporters to be prepared to wait for the situation regarding the ownership of the club to be resolved before they can start talking about ending the 21-year wait for a league title.
He said that, “No one has patience nowadays. We are just asking for a little bit. We did not spend much money and in football to compete with the others sometimes it is important to do it. It's going to be like this for a little while until we sort out the (owners) situation.”
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