Roy: No room for sentiment

Roy Hodgson insists there will be no room for sentiment when Liverpool attempt to get their top four bid back on track against Fulham on Saturday evening.

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The Reds boss enjoyed a successful spell in the Cottagers' hot-seat but admits he would like nothing more than to secure the three points at the expense of his old side and reduce the gap to the Barclays Premier League summit.

"It will bring back very good memories," he said.

"It was a fantastic two-and-a-half years for me there. I had a really good time and was well looked after. The club was good to me, the players were excellent and they were a joy to work with.

"It was a wrench to leave them but a job like Liverpool doesn't come along every day. I was lucky that the people at the club, particularly the players, understood it was something I should do and wanted to do.

"Unfortunately when you leave a club and you play against them there is only thought in your mind. We need to win. We are desperate to move up the table so my only thought is that I wish they were a worse team than they are because I know it won't be easy for us to beat them.

"I don't have any sentiment at all and I'm sorry to say I'll be raging against decisions and complaining about things just as much as if Fulham are our opponents or another team for whom I have no time at all."

To watch Roy's pre-Fulham press conference click on the play button below

The Reds head into the match with Mark Hughes's men hoping to return to winning ways following the disappointment of last week's 3-1 reversal at Newcastle.

Hodgson feels their impressive home form can help get them back on track and is determined to see his side push up the table.

He added: "After a defeat our first hope is to bounce back in the next league game. This is an ideal match in that sense but the opponent doesn't make it an ideal match. The occasion and fact we are playing at home does.

"The problem these days is that there is not a great deal of difference in terms of points between the sixth place team and those at the bottom. We aren't talking about the top half at the moment apart from teams pulling away.

"We know we have work to do and need to win matches to get higher up the table.

"Luckily our form at Anfield in the league - touch wood - has been good and we've won our last four. We've also beaten Napoli recently so that's five good wins that can buoy us and give us confidence."