Watford win was a boost

Last updated : 17 January 2007 By Al Campbell
Bellamy says the weekend win at Vicarage Road was the perfect tonic after Liverpool's two cup exits the previous week and showed the Reds are heading the right way under Rafael Benitez.

"I'm lucky in a way, because that kind of reaction isn't new to me. Whenever we lost at Newcastle it was a bit similar," said the Wales striker.

"There were certain people who always liked to whip it up after a defeat, but nowhere near to the same extent you seem to get at Liverpool. I'm used to this at a big club, and you learn quickly as a player to just think about getting on with the next game and make sure you perform as well as possible. Fortunately, that's what we did against Watford.

"People quickly forget how well we've done in the league in the last few months. We've only lost once, and you've also got to look at what happened last week and say that although it's not good to lose to anyone, it was Arsenal who beat us. They are a top side, not mugs.

"We've gone out to a team that could easily go on and win those two competitions, so disappointing as it was to all of us, sometimes you have to just say they were the better side over the two games.

"We knew we needed a performance like we showed at Watford, and the formation worked really well. To be fair, the first 15 minutes were scrappy, but when we got our chances we were able to build from there.

"We had to adapt to three up front, and maybe that meant we started a bit slowly, but after that we were always in control. It was bit different, but we've got quality players here who can adapt when needed."