New Liverpool boss Roy Hodgson has hinted that a top-four finish in the Premier League could be more important than a run in the Europa League this season (Reds 7/4 – Top 4 Finish 2010/11).
The Reds will not be dining at the top table of European football for at least 12 months after coming seventh last term at the end of a campaign that eventually saw the departure of Rafa Benitez.
And while the Spaniard will be in the Champions League again now he has re-surfaced at Inter Milan, the club he has left behind is languishing in the second tier in Europe, something loyal Reds fans hope will prove to be only a temporary setback.
With that in mind, Hodgson, who impressed last season by taking Fulham all the way to the final of the Europa League, has appeared to suggest something must give as he bids to lead Liverpool – the five-times champions of Europe – back to the promised land (Reds 9/1 – Premier League 2010/11 Outright).
As far as the here and now is concerned, Liverpool will face FK Rabotnicki of Macedonia in the third qualifying round of the Europa League following their win over two legs against Mika, but Hodgson admits progression cannot simply be taken for granted.
“I worry a lot about not having enough players for next week,” the popular Croydon-born coach revealed in the Daily Mail in reference to the trip to Skopje for the first leg next Thursday.
“These will be two unbelievably difficult games at this stage of the season but it depends where we put the Europa League in the grand scheme of things.
“The sports scientists tell me it would be wrong if I use the World Cup players this early, if we want to use them throughout the season.
“But if we don’t throw them in, then we don’t have the players with experience to play these games, so it is a cleft stick.
“It is a balance that I cannot sort out on my own. It will be a decision for the club to take on.
“Where in the list of priorities does the Europa League come.”
Red winger Albert Riera is set to move to Greek giants Olympiacos by the weekend after receiving a hero’s welcome on Thursday on his arrival in Greece.
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