Athens pain spurs on Kuyt

Last updated : 03 August 2007 By Al Campbell
Kuyt scored in the European Cup final but it wasn't enough to prevent the Reds falling to a 2-1 defeat to AC Milan in Athens. The defeat still gnaws at Kuyt and he says it will act as a spur this season.

"It was tough not winning anything last season. Sometimes the gap between winning and losing is so slender," said the striker.

"We saw that in the Champions League final. If we could have won that it would have really set us up. But it was a narrow defeat.

"It was very disappointing. Playing for a club like Liverpool you always expect to win trophies.

"Hopefully that will be the extra motivation for us now. We all want to win things and hopefully we will get back to that next season.

"My own aim is to do better than last season, to maintain my form on the pitch. It does not matter if it is goals or assists, I am happy with either.

"I hope that in 10 months' time we will be lifting a trophy, that is the dream now. We are going to work really hard for it and that work will pay off."