Smith: It's a Happy New Year for LFC now

It was a great way to end the year after all the disappointments of recent weeks, writes Tommy Smith in the Echo.

Fernando Torres' late strike sent Liverpool fans into raptures and ensured we enter New Year with big smiles.

Torres is a truly great striker and becoming the fastest Liverpool player to hit 50 goals is testament to that. It's even more remarkable given the games he has missed through injury.

I've said it before but yet again the way he just pops up from nowhere so reminds me of Roger Hunt. And I can't pay the lad a bigger compliment than that.

But all the players deserve credit for following up the win over Wolves with another at Villa Park.

The team has been struggling so much for form and energy but the pressure was really on them on Tuesday - and they responded magnificently.

Some people have said Villa deserved to win, not us. OK, they had a few chances with which they could have punished us, but in terms of possession and control we were easily the better side.

After all their woes with injuries this season, Torres and Steven Gerrard have now come up with two terrific and important goals for us. The addition of Aquilani cannot be overlooked either. I was worried an Italian might be a bit negative in terms of approach but the signs are encouraging. He's looked really bright and wants to get the ball down and pass it forward quickly. Hopefully he'll go on to be a huge hit now.

We must now use these victories as a springboard to leap up the table. It's Spurs next at Anfield in the league and we owe them.

So let's turn them over too when the time comes and then we can finally begin to believe - as we should - that a top four finish is well within our own grasp again.

It definitely is.

Let's not let things slip at Reading

UNDOUBTEDLTY Rafa Benitez will make some changes for the FA Cup third round trip to Reading on Saturday.

Getting back into the Champions League has to be the top priority and he'll want to protect one or two players for the league game against Spurs.

But that said, there are only two prizes Liverpool can now realistically win this season - and the FA Cup is one of them.

It's a famous old trophy and hardly a consolation prize either. So for that reason alone, Reading must not be taken lightly despite the fact they've been struggling at the wrong end of the Championship.

But more than anything, once you start to develop a winning habit you must keep it.

I don't want any sign of us taking our foot off the gas because therein lies real danger.

We've found it hard to put a run of wins together this season. Saturday offers us the chance to make it three in a row. So let's take it.

Pepe Reina is simply a winner

SOME people have criticised Pepe Reina for running up the pitch against Wolves to tell the officials they'd booked the wrong man.

But not me.

He was sticking up for the Reds and I say well done to him.

Pepe is not only the best goalkeeper in the league, he loves Liverpool FC and showed it in October when he ran to the Kop to celebrate David Ngog's second goal against Manchester United.

He's simply got a winner's attitude - and I like that.

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the views or position of Liverpool Football Club.