Torres: My loyalty to LFC

After arriving back to Melwood as a World Cup winner, Fernando Torres sat down with Liverpoolfc.tv to discuss his new manager, the arrival of Joe Cole and his dreams of taking the Reds back to the top of English football.

First of all Fernando, congratulations on winning the World Cup - have you had a good summer?

Yes, as you can imagine it was an amazing day for Spaniards all over the world. Winning the World Cup happens maybe once in your life so it was a fantastic feeling and a great way to end the season. I have had a break over the summer and I'm now glad to be back here at Liverpool to see all of my teammates.

We know you picked up an injury in the World Cup final. How are you feeling now, are you fit and ready to go again?

Yes, I am looking forward to the first game. I have less than two weeks to get ready but I felt really good in my first session back with the physios and the doctor. I will try to be fit as soon as possible and I am looking forward to playing at Anfield again.

We know it's hard work early in pre-season, but are you enjoying being back around your teammates again?

Of course. After a nice break enjoying the summer with my family I was looking forward to coming back to Melwood to see the staff, my teammates and the new players. I'm excited about the new season and about the targets of the club.

Click the image below to watch our exclusive interview with Torres

We obviously have a new manager now who you met in Spain. How impressed are you with Roy Hodgson's plans for the club and how much are you looking forward to working with him?

I really appreciated the fact that Roy came out to see me while I was on my holidays. He told me about his plans for the club and what he wanted from me and I appreciated that. I hope he will be the right man to reach the targets of Liverpool Football Club and I am really looking forward to working with him. At the moment I am training just on my own but as soon as I can I will train with the team and with the new manager.

Steven Gerrard has already said he is looking forward to the new season, Joe Cole has arrived and made his debut at the weekend - how excited are you about the future here at Liverpool?

I was talking to Stevie a lot today and I also met with Joe. I think Joe is exactly the kind of player we need to improve the history of our club. We are keeping our best players and so it's nice to be back with them. Hopefully we can play together as soon as possible.

How excited were you when you heard Joe Cole was signing for Liverpool?

He is the kind of player I like to play with and the kind of player who can take the team to a higher level. His passing is unbelievable so hopefully he can start the season well because I am sure he will be a key player for us.

Joe has said he's looking forward to creating a lot of chances and a lot of goals for you this season...

Hopefully that will be the case. I'm excited about playing with him and hopefully we can all help him settle into the team and the city to make sure he can reach his best as quickly as possible. It's up to us to help the new players.

What are your personal targets this season and what do you think Liverpool can achieve?

This is the best club in the country so the targets and expectations are always high. Hopefully we can stay at our level. At Liverpool the aim is to fight for every title. It was difficult last season but we are sure we can improve this season. I am really happy to be back, really happy to stay with all my teammates. My commitment and loyalty to the club and to the fans is the same as it was on my first day when I signed. I am looking forward to the challenge ahead.

Why does this club mean so much to you?

From my first day I got the same welcome as Stevie or Carra or players who have been here for a long time. I felt at home from the first day, I feel the fans love me and everyone knows I am really happy here and really happy to play at Anfield. As I said earlier, I'm looking forward to starting the season and playing with my teammates and for the fans.

Is the dream to score the goals which wins trophies for this club?

Of course. I know that one trophy here at Liverpool - maybe the Premier League - means more than three or four with another club. This was my target from the day I came and it's still my target. Hopefully this season we can feel this sensation here at Liverpool.

Reds ace in top 10

Liverpool’s Superleague Formula ace James Walker secured a top 10 finish in the first race at Brands Hatch on Sunday.

After a frustrating round of qualifying on Saturday, Walker rose to the occasion in front of a good home support and gave it everything he had.

Meanwhile, John Martin helped Beijing Guoan to win the first race after he held off Craig Dolby of Tottenham.

Unfortunately race two was marred by a major incident when Olympiacos driver Chris van der Drift suffered a massive accident while challenging for fifth place in the closing stages.

The young New Zealander had driven superbly to climb from 12th on the grid to sixth, but as he hit his push-to-pass button on the back straight to move further up the order he went over the right-rear wheel of Julien Jousse's AS Roma car and flipped through the air.

As the medics attended to him and he was taken to hospital with a suspected broken leg, Karthikeyan became the 11th different winner in 14 feature races when he was declared the victor after an excellent drive from pole position.

In the third and big money race, race one winner Martin of Beijing Guoan netted the €100,000 by winning the five-lap dash-for-the-cash Super Final.

Walker remains in 11^th place in the overall standings and he will be improving to improve on that when Superleague Formula heads to Italy on September 4/5.

Carra: Stevie news a huge lift

Jamie Carragher has revealed that Steven Gerrard's decision to reaffirm his commitment to Liverpool has given everyone at the club a massive lift.

The Reds vice-captain believes there is a real feel-good factor reverberating around Anfield at the moment and feels things are falling into place just in time to ensure they head into the new season in buoyant mood.

"Well, he's our best player. For me he's probably the best player in the history of the club, alongside Kenny, so it's obviously going to give everyone a massive lift," Carragher told Liverpoolfc.tv.

"Hopefully Fernando will do the same and we can bring one or two more in so that we head into the season with a real feel good factor."

Carragher was speaking after the Reds' pre-season defeat to Borussia Moenchengladbach, a clash that saw Joe Cole make his Liverpool debut.

The defender reckons the former Chelsea man has already settled into life on Merseyside and is confident the fans will take a shine to the club's new No.10.

"He's not taken too long to settle in and he knows quite a lot of the lads from England," he said.

"He's a good lad too and he's staying right in the centre of Liverpool, so a lot of the fans have seen him around.

"He loves playing here and being at Liverpool. You like people to get involved with the city and he's doing that from an early stage."

The match at Borussia Park also saw Carra make his first appearance under Roy Hodgson.

He admits the ex-Fulham boss has helped to breathe new life into Melwood and is now targeting a starting berth in the forthcoming clashes with FK Rabotnicki and Arsenal.

"It was good to get the new kit on and play under the new manager," he said. "Everything feels fresh and it's nice to be involved. Hopefully I'll be involved in the next European game now before Arsenal.

"We've only been training 10 days, but it's always nice to get back out there on the pitch."

Roy's Borussia verdict

Roy Hodgson admitted there were plenty of positives to take from the performance of his Liverpool players, despite a 1-0 defeat to Borussia Moenchengladbach in Germany.

The Reds slipped to a narrow loss at Borussia Park after Karim Matmour made the most of some poor defending to give the Bundesliga side victory as they celebrated their 110^th anniversary.

Video: Highlights of Cole's debut>>

However, Hodgson was able to field summer signing Joe Cole as well as England colleagues Steven Gerrard, Jamie Carragher and Glen Johnson for the first time under his stewardship and insisted there was much to be encouraged by.

The boss told Liverpoolfc.tv: "We gave it to them again. It's disappointing. If it had stayed 0-0 I would have been delighted with the performance. I am still quite pleased and I think we got everything we asked from the players.

"We had three or four World Cup players playing their first 45 or 60 minutes and, of course, at the end of the game we had players who are only 15 and 16 on the field. I thought they stood up to the challenge very well.

"As in Kaiserslautern, we came close to a really good result. It was an even game but, as I said, unfortunately after 10 minutes with no pressure on us at all, we gave away that very bad goal."

Daniel Ayala was guilty of conceding possession cheaply inside his own area for the Moenchengladbach goal after eight minutes - but Hodgson had words of comfort for the young centre-back.

He said: "Ayala was our best player after the mistake and I think that shows what kind of character he is.

"To make a mistake like that after eight minutes, most players would crumble but not only did he get himself going again, I thought he was a pillar in our defence and I take my hat off to him.

"Mistakes are mistakes - they happen and you learn from it. I am pleased with him."

The clash in Germany represented Liverpool's final pre-season friendly of the summer - and Hodgson admits it has been difficult to prepare for the new campaign due to the extended breaks many of his senior stars were afford following the World Cup.

"I am seeing improvements in some individual players but we haven't really had the chance to work together as a team as yet," he said. "I don't even think we're going to be together as a team as I would like us to be on August 15 as we are still reintegrating players.

Video: Cole reflects on debut>>

"Joe and Steven played their first 60 minutes today, Jamie Carragher played 45 and Johnson 55 - we're just reintegrating players all the time. It's going to take a bit of time.

"But today was an exercise and certainly not negative in anyway other than the fact our young players must realise at this very, very high level you are judged on mistakes and if you make glaring ones, you're going to be judged very harshly."

Despite fielding Gerrard, Cole, Carragher and Johnson, Hodgson is unsure whether they will be considered for Thursday's Europa League third qualifying round tie with FK Rabotnicki at Anfield.

He admitted: "I haven't decided yet. We've left a lot a players back at home - Kelly, Agger, Soto and Skrtel - so there's a whole back four and the chances are that's the back four that will play. We will see if they will get any minutes and I will speak to them.

"There's also the question of what is going to be best to get them fit for the game on August 15. We will have to sit down and talk about it."

Meanwhile, Hodgson explained why he opted to give youngsters Raheem Sterling and Jesus 'Suso' Fernandez some playing time towards the end of the clash.

"We were short of players but as it happened, Aurelio signed at the last minute and Insua decided that he is still undecided about his future and was therefore able to be selected," he said.

"Suddenly we had 20 players instead of 18. I was concerned in the beginning we wouldn't have 18 players so Raheem Sterling and Suso were called up and having done so I wanted to give them a few minutes on the pitch."

Cole starts in friendly loss

Joe Cole made his Liverpool debut as the Reds slipped to a 1-0 defeat in a pre-season friendly with Borussia Moenchengladbach in Germany on Sunday afternoon.

The summer signing delivered an encouraging 65-minute performance at Borussia Park and displayed some slick link-up play with his new teammates - particularly with Steven Gerrard, who along with Jamie Carragher and Glen Johnson, made his first appearance for the Reds under new manager Roy Hodgson.

Video: Highlights of Cole's debut>>

There were also late cameos for Academy starlets Raheem Sterling and Jesus 'Suso' Fernandez as the Reds continued their preparations for the start of the Barclays Premier League season in two weeks time.

However, Moenchengladbach were eager to put on a show for their home crowd and duly opened the scoring on eight minutes as Karim Matmour capitalised on a defensive error to score.

The German club arranged the clash as part of their 110^th anniversary celebrations and given the bond between the two sets of supporters that stretches back nearly four decades, Liverpool were more than fitting opposition.

Fans from both teams lined up to create a guard of honour for the players entering the impressive Borussia Park arena, before Gerry Marsden delivered a rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone that will live long in the memory for everyone privileged enough to be amongst the near-60,000 crowd.

The sense of excitement engulfing the stadium was further lifted by the sight of Cole wearing red for the first time.

Meanwhile, Fabio Aurelio was named amongst the substitutes after penning a two-year contract less than 24 hours previously, while Academy starlets Raheem Sterling and Jesus 'Suso' Fernandez were also on the bench.

The home side fashioned the first chance of a warm afternoon with Juan Arango drilling low into the arms of Diego Cavalieri from the corner of the box inside four minutes.

The Venezuelan went closer still moments later as he clipped a 25-yard free-kick narrowly wide of the upright.

However, Moenchengladbach made the breakthrough in the eighth minute when Matmour took full advantage of some sloppy play by Daniel Ayala. The youngster collected possession from Cavalieri inside the area, but his first touch was heavy under pressure and was punished by a powerful finish by the onrushing Borussia No.40.

The goal appeared to stun the Reds, who had dominated possession prior to conceding. Die Fohlen were looking menacing and the visitors were afforded a let off when Matmour completely missed his kick when well positioned.

With the Algerian's confidence visibly buoyed by his goal, Matmour was proving a real handful and his stinging drive required Cavalieri to palm the ball to safety on the half-hour mark.

Hodgson opted to introduce Milan Jovanovic and Danny Wilson into the action at half-time, but Moenchengladbach had the first chance of the second period as Arango's volleyed effort from Tobias Levels's cross deflected off Johnson, but Cavalieri was able to smother.

Liverpool fashioned their first chance of note on 56 minutes as Cole's low drive from distance was parried by substitute goalkeeper Christofer Heimeroth. Nathan Eccleston was on hand to collect the rebound, but the youngster couldn't profit as Die Fohlen recovered.

Shortly after the hour mark, Gerrard was withdrawn from the contest before Cole made way to a warm ovation from both sets of fans.

Borussia continued to threaten and Marco Raus blazed high and wide from a good position before Wilson was forced to cut out a dangerous centre from Arango.

With the clock ticking down, Hodgson handed Sterling and Suso senior bows, while fellow substitute David Amoo narrowly glanced a header wide of the post - but the hosts were good value for their win.

And though the Reds were unable to spoil Borussia's anniversary festivities, Hodgson will have been highly encouraged by a number of his players' performances - both old and new alike.

Our complete German squad

Steven Gerrard, Joe Cole, Jamie Carragher and Glen Johnson were amongst the travelling party as Liverpool set off for Germany today.

Cole is in line to make his Reds debut in the friendly against Borussia Moenchengladbach on Sunday as the England quartet return to action following an extended break due to the World Cup.

The flight departed John Lennon airport around 3.30pm.

Liverpool: Gerrard, Cavalieri, Shelvey, Spearing, Irwin, Dalla Valle, Gulacsi, Johnson, Eccleston, Darby, Wilson, Ince, Amoo, Suso, Ayala, Aquilani, Carragher, Cole, Insua, Jovanovic, Aurelio.

Lucas out to impress Roy

Lucas Leiva insists he can play a big part in Roy Hodgson's new-look squad this season.

With Roy Hodgson revealing this week that Javier Mascherano has asked to leave the club, Liverpool's No.21 is hoping his encouraging pre-season form has shown the Reds boss that he is a player the manager can rely on.

"We know the situation regarding Javier and of course we all hope he stays because he's such a good player and important to the team," said Lucas.

"We'll have to wait and, but if he goes then I'm ready to play and to impress and do whatever job the manager needs from me.

"I'm not the same player as Javier, we have different styles, but I know I am able play the role Javier does because last season I played a few games when he was at right back.

"I've no problem with doing that job - I know I can do it if that's what the manager wants. I think I did well last season but I think in this one I can do even better wherever I play.

"I know there are a lot of senior players in front of me but I hope I did a good job and that I can stay in the team as well."