Dirk Kuyt exclusive: Please don't make me quit Liverpool, Kenny!

Dirk Kuyt is desperate to be part of a glorious Anfield future.

But the Liverpool cult hero is also demanding that his team-mates stop living off their obvious potential, and start delivering right now by ending their alarming inconsistency.

Downing desperate to end his FA Cup semi-final jinx  

After a Reds side dotted with youth secured another Wembley visit by progressing through to the FA Cup semi-finals, there was talk of the team developing into potential title challengers one day.

While Dutch international Kuyt is convinced something is really growing at the club, he is seasoned enough to insist the current campaign is far from over… and that Liverpool still have much to aim for in the league, where they still hope to finish in the top four, as well as the Cup.

“We have a sense that we are a coming force, that we are building something special,” he explained.

“We have a sense that we can do something next season for sure, but we are still in this season, and we still have a chance.

"We cannot give up on any spot in the Premier League and we are still in the FA Cup, so we have to keep fighting this season to deliver.

“Future wise, I think we will be okay. I think we have much to look forward to, because there is a sense we can go places with this squad, because there are some players with real talent.

“Yet we know as a club how important the top four is to the future – the finances [connected with Champions League qualification] mean you cannot afford to be out of it too long.

"That is why we have to keep going, and even if we are some points behind now, we can not give up.

“We have to work now by thinking if we get three points at QPR [on Wednesday night] we get a bit closer, and you never know what’s going to happen.”

Kuyt is desperate to be part of the glorious future he is predicting for a young Liverpool side that is growing with confidence by the day, and happily admits he would love to spend the rest of his career at Anfield.

Yet he has made clear to boss Kenny Dalglish that he will stay only as long as he is wanted.

He admitted he could be forced to think about his future if he doesn’t get the playing time he believes he deserves.

“I want to play every game. It is very disappointing when I don’t - like the Carling Cup Final for instance,” added Kuyt.

“From my point of view I’m feeling really well physically, I don’t think I’ve ever felt stronger, and I’m ready to play games, I am ready to play every game of the season.

"For me it is all about trying to convince the manager he needs to pick me more than he does at the moment.

“I can see myself staying at Anfield for the rest of my career, as long as I am satisfied and am entitled to play in each game to get to the level I want to be.

“As long as I play as much as I want to play then I will be happy, but if it gets to the point where I am not playing every game any more, then maybe I will have to make another decision – but I don’t think about that at this stage.”

For now, the 31-year-old is concentrating on a second Wembley appearance in the space of six weeks, after six years without any sort of glory as a Liverpool player.

Kuyt was at the newly refurbished JJB Sports store in Broughton on Monday, and even found time to pop behind the counter and serve customers who were queuing for his autograph.

Kuyt from a working background, and while he never joined his fisherman father on the boats, he did paint houses for a living until football intervened.

“I never worked behind a till, so this was the first time… it was quite funny. I enjoyed it, serving some nice people,” he explained.

“My dad was a fisherman, and I had a job painting houses, then I got into professional football and now here I am going to Wembley again… and I want more.

“I came to Liverpool, one of the biggest clubs in the world, to win trophies. So to not win anything for six years is not something I expected.

“I have been close, I have played some big finals, and now I have got that winners’ medal in the Carling Cup, and I am really hungry for success to make up for that lost time.

“It is great to be going to Wembley for the semi [potentially against Everton , if they beat Sunderland in their quarter-final replay], it is a special place for everyone in football, but that is not enough, we have to aim to win the semi, win the FA Cup and find that bit extra to be higher in the league.”

It is Liverpool’s inconsistency that has been the problem this season, and Kuyt wants that to change - starting with QPR.

“You can say we have had a maddening inconsistency at times, even if we have been unlucky,” he admitted.

“Maybe that’s because we have a lot of young players, a lot of new players at the club, we have to keep playing like that, but take the chances we are creating, and there were signs against Everton and Stoke we are starting to do that.

“We need to find the consistency, and get the points we deserve and we will be there, and we want to be there as soon as possible.

“In the dressing room, we are not satisfied with what has happened so far.”

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Dirk Kuyt was speaking at the official opening of JJB Sports' new-look store at Broughton Retail Park, Chester. The store is a UK first, with shoppers able to get 'hands on' with the latest sporting equipment and try it before they decide to buy it. For all your sporting needs, visit www.jjbsports.com