London - Dirk Kuyt insists Liverpool still have plenty of unfulfilled
potential as they prepare to step up their quest for a Cup double with
an FA Cup quarter-final against Stoke today.
Kenny Dalglish's side ended a
six-year wait for a trophy when they beat Championship side Cardiff in
the League Cup final last month. But Kuyt believes the Reds - 10 points
adrift of fourth-placed Arsenal in the Premier League - can do better.
'We have a quality group of players. We beat
United, we beat Arsenal, we have beaten Everton twice, but it's true
that we dropped too many points in other games and that's what we're
trying to change,' said the Dutch forward.
Liverpool, for example, managed
only a goalless draw in January's meeting with Stoke at Anfield, where
they have won just five times in the league this season.
'It's never easy when a lot of new players are
coming into the club,' said Kuyt, referring to the likes of strikers
Andy Carroll and Luis Suarez. 'I'm sure we will be okay in the future.'
Their immediate task, however, is to beat
Stoke, who reached the final of the FA Cup last year. The Potters have
not won at Anfield since 1959. But manager Tony Pulis feels they can go
there with confidence, having beaten Liverpool at the Britannia Stadium
in September.
'It gives us heart that we've played them
three times and given them a good run for their money on three
occasions, and that will be the theme this week,' he said.
Ex-Reds striker Peter Crouch and 'keeper
Thomas Sorensen will start for Stoke, but Ricardo Fuller misses out
through suspension. The Reds will be without defender Daniel Agger,
while Glen Johnson is doubtful with a sore hamstring.