West Ham United may be in for another difficult test when they head up to Merseyside on Wednesday night but George McCartney is expecting maximum effort from the tenth-placed club.
The left-back is looking for a reaction after a 4-0 weekend defeat by a Chelsea side he described as "probably the best team we have faced this year". The consistent Northern Ireland international was well placed to judge the west London's side credentials as he has been a league and cup ever-present this season and also not missed any first-team match since sitting out the 4-3 defeat by Tottenham Hotspur exactly a year ago - a run of 42 games.
Looking to the midweek game when Alan Curbishley's men will have the chance to achieve a famous double over the Reds, he said: "We have to forget about [Chelsea] and move on to Liverpool. It is not going to be easy at Anfield, they are under a bit of pressure themselves and they will be up for the game and looking to take the three points. It has been a long season and we have got eleven left. We have got to try and take as many points as we can. We want to try and get in Europe."
While things did not go to plan against Chelsea, a draw or victory at the Reds would set the club up nicely for Sunday's trip to Tottenham Hotspur. After that, West Ham United will have nine games left and Alan Curbishley will be keen to get his players thinking of last year's seven wins from that number of fixtures. Also, with home fixtures against seventh-placed Blackburn Rovers and Portsmouth, in eighth, on the horizon there is no reason why the club cannot look to move up.
Certainly, the ever-reliable McCartney will not be wanting a rest. "It does begin to catch up on you coming towards the last couple of months but it is the same for everyone," he said. "We have got a big enough squad to cope. It is just a matter of everyone digging in for the rest of the season." For all the disappointment at the weekend display, he also knows West Ham United traditionally "lift our game when the big teams come along" and equally acknowledged that "football is a crazy game at times".