Henderson turns attention to Russia trip

Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson believes Thursday's Europa League tie in St Petersburg provides a chance to put their surprise defeat to West Brom behind them.



The Reds dominated at Anfield - Steven Gerrard having a penalty saved by Ben Foster - but were stung by goals in the last nine minutes from Gareth McAuley and Romelu Lukaku.



That ended a run of three successive home victories, in which they had scored 12 and not conceded, and came after encouraging back-to-back draws against Arsenal and Manchester City in their previous two matches.



With the confidence bubble burst and hopes of a top-four finish in tatters, trailing Tottenham by 12 points with a dozen games remaining, Henderson believes a return to European action can provide an important boost.



"We just have to keep going, keep our heads up and bounce back from this," the England international said ahead of tomorrow's trip to face Zenit St Petersburg.



"We just have to stay positive and think about the next game now which is Zenit in the Europa League on Thursday night.



"We know the European game is important as well but I think every game is important to be honest.



"We will keep improving and make sure we keep going in the right direction.



"Hopefully we can improve, get some better results in the league and look to close that gap.



"We have to take each game as it comes and play well every week and hopefully we will get better results than last night."



West Brom arrived at Anfield with a gameplan to press and stifle and they achieved that to a greater extent, although they were indebted to Foster for a string of saves to keep the scores level.



Liverpool missed the cutting edge provided by £12million January signing Daniel Sturridge, who was sidelined with a thigh injury after scoring four goals in six appearances.



"Daniel is a quality player and everyone has seen that since he's come in," added Henderson.



"You obviously miss good players and that was the case.



"We're all very disappointed. We had a few chances in the game but we just couldn't take them.



"We just have to stay positive and concentrate on the next game.



"The manager didn't have much to say after. We all know we didn't play particularly well but we have to move on.



"I don't think we passed the ball as well as we could have done. We didn't play particularly well.



"We had a lot of the ball but we didn't create as much as we have been doing.



"It's a game we could have won but it just wasn't our night.



"It's frustrating but that's football. You have to take these things on board and learn from it."



Forward Fabio Borini is looking for a personal boost from the Europa League having struggled to get up to match sharpness after his return from a broken foot in recent weeks.



The Italian has made just one start - in the shock FA Cup defeat at Oldham - and three substitute appearances but is likely to be given a chance in Russia.



His only goal in 15 appearances since arriving for £10.5million from Roma in the summer came in August's Europa League qualifier against Gomel.



Borini feels he has benefited from gaining European experience and hopes to build on that further.



"It has been very helpful to my career," he told Press Association Sport.



"I played a couple of games in the Europa League before I got injured and it has been really good because it is a different way of football to the Premier League.



"You have to be organised. You have to take care of not conceding first and then you think about scoring because not to concede away goals is important."

Henderson: Lucas has helped me

Jordan Henderson has spoken of the respect within the Liverpool squad for Lucas Leiva as he nears a first-team return – and revealed how the Brazilian has helped him through some difficult moments.



Lucas has been out of first-team contention since suffering a thigh injury during the early stages of the Reds' meeting with Manchester City on August 26.



But the midfielder banked 61 minutes for the U21s last week and Henderson revealed that both young and old members of the squad are relishing the 25-year-old's comeback.



"Lucas has been working hard to get back as quick as he can, training for the last few days. He looks nearly ready," Henderson told Liverpoolfc.com.



"He's been keeping it simple because I don't think he wants to start pinging balls in case he pops it again.



"He's been looking sharp in training and he's a really good lad so the quicker we can get him back the better. He's a top player, everybody knows that."



Henderson can perhaps draw comparisons with Lucas' rise in popularity at Anfield and his own fledgling Reds career, and the 22-year-old explained that his senior colleague is always available for advice.



He continued: "He will offer advice to younger players - I've spoken to him a couple of times about things.



"He's a really nice guy and he'll help you through times when it might not be going right for you. He's definitely a senior player that you look up to. He's a big player for Liverpool and as soon as he gets back, it will benefit the team."



The next challenge for the Reds is a home clash against a rejuvenated Southampton team managed by one-time Liverpool trainee Nigel Adkins.



Henderson expects a tough task when the Saints visit Merseyside on Saturday afternoon, but called on his teammates to claim regular victories at Anfield.



"They've been playing well the last few weeks, got some good results, and they like to play football as well," the midfielder added.



"They've got some good players, it's another difficult game but one that we'll go in confident about winning and hopefully we can keep playing like we have been.



"They're enjoying playing in the Premier League, I'm sure the manager and all the players will be enjoying it. You can see that in the way that they play. It will be a good game.



"It's a key feature in the Premier League - you need to win your home games. That's what we've been trying to do. It's another big game against Southampton and we'll make sure that we're ready and confident going into the game."



The Reds are also set to welcome Aston Villa and Fulham before 2012 concludes, and Henderson is confident that three points can be secured against each.



"They're games that we'll go in confident about winning, but I think we go into every game like that. Because of the players that we've got, we think that we can win.



"Those games will be no different - we'll give the teams the respect that they deserve but we're there to do a job and win the game."



Win, lose or draw, the midfielder echoed the argument that the Reds are improving all the time and believes the club's loyal supporters can see that progress for themselves.



"I think the fans appreciate what the manager and everyone else is trying to do," he concluded.



"You can see improvements week by week in the way that we play, the way that we keep the ball and press as a team.



"There's definitely improvement that people can see so I think they appreciate that and they'll support us all the way like they always have."