Johnson hits back at critics

Liverpool right-back Glen Johnson has urged critics not to rule out the Reds from the Premier League title just yet, despite two defeats in their opening three games this season.

Rafa Benitez’s men succumbed to their second defeat of the season on Monday night when they went down 3-1 at home to Aston Villa.

With just two defeats in the whole of last season, and now six points adrift of the league leaders, Liverpool find themselves with an uphill struggle to claw back the gap.

But Johnson is confident the Reds’ fortunes are about to change and they will still be fighting for the title come next Spring.

He said, “Obviously this is not the start to the season that we wanted but it’s only the third game and there is a long way to go.

“It’s still the early part of the season so we are not going to beat ourselves up at the moment. Of course, we’d like to have a few more points but it’s not to be so we’ll just keep going.”

The 24-year-old England international defender added that he believes the likes of Tottenham, Aston Villa and Manchester City will make life harder for the ‘œtop four’ this season.

“I definitely believe that teams like Aston Villa and Tottenham and Man City will take points off the so called big four this season,” he continued.

“That is good thing about the Premier League, anybody can beat everybody.”