Paul Konchesky takes blame for Liverpool defeat
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Your support makes all the difference.Defender Paul Konchesky has admitted he has not yet reached the level required at Liverpool and accepted full responsibility for yesterday's 2-1 defeat at Tottenham.
The left-back was given a tough time by Aaron Lennon and was caught out of position and found lacking for pace as the winger raced through to score the winner in added time.
Despite an encouraging performance at White Hart Lane, where the Reds dominated the first half and should have led by more at the interval, Konchesky was the one player who came in for criticism.
He acknowledged his culpability against Spurs and stressed his determination to improve.
"I've got to up my game. Where I've played before has not been as high a standard as Liverpool, but this is a good pressure," said the 29-year-old.
"The fans want you to be in the top four because that's where Liverpool belong.
"Straight after (Lennon's winner) I knew that I'd have to hold my hands up, but we also had chances to win the game.
"That's part of football and we've got to try to take the positives out of the game.
"I was gutted (with the winner); being the last minute as well it didn't give us any time to get back into the game.
"But that's life, we've got to put it behind us, and I've got to put it behind myself for the next game."
The former West Ham defender has taken a while to settle having arrived from Fulham in the summer and his integration into the side has not been helped by changes going on within the team.
Roy Hodgson, who brought Konchesky with him from Craven Cottage when he replaced Rafael Benitez as manager, has slowly been instilling his own tactics and performances have dipped as a result.
That has made it harder for the new arrival to slot in as there have been issues to deal with elsewhere.
"I got injured early on so I'm just getting back to playing at full fitness now," Konchesky added.
"I'm getting used to the atmosphere and the people surrounding the team.
"I can see signs that we're starting to play in the style he (Hodgson) wants.
"The more we work on it on the training ground, the more the players get used to what the manager wants.
"We're taking it into games. The performances have been of a much higher standard in the last two games.
"It's about organisation and a lot of hard work. Players filling in for each other when someone's out of position.
"I think the team is becoming organised in the system."
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