Liverpool striker Craig Bellamy believes the team are now well placed to kick on in the final third of the season.
The Wales international thinks January was a significant period for the Reds and having come through that busy stretch they are still in the hunt for two trophies and a top-four Barclays Premier League finish.
Their eight matches last month coincided with the eight-match ban for Luis Suarez, their top scorer at the time, after the Uruguay international was found guilty of racially abusing Manchester United defender Patrice Evra.
Liverpool may have suffered league defeats to Manchester City and Bolton, but they booked a place in their first final for five years by overcoming City in the Carling Cup and face npower Championship side Brighton in the fifth round of the FA Cup, having dispatched Manchester United.
And Bellamy, now the team’s leading scorer with nine, is looking forward to finishing the season with a flourish.
“It’s been a tough month for us but fortunately we’ve come through it and going into February we’re in good shape,” said the 32-year-old.
“We had eight games in the space of three or four weeks and the squad’s been tested.
“Reaching the final and getting to Wembley was big for us because going into January we knew the amount of games we had against opposition like Manchester City three times and Manchester United in the FA Cup.
“We’ve got a chance to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals if we beat Brighton, we’re in the final of the League Cup, we’re four points off fourth and have a fully fit squad.
“We have a good chance to up the charge and end the season on a real positive note.”
Bellamy has arguably been Liverpool’s best player this season despite being used sparingly by manager Kenny Dalglish to help protect the striker’s ageing knees.
His four goals in January, one of which provided the second-leg equaliser against City which put them into the final on aggregate, earned the Welshman his second player of the month award since returning to the club on a free transfer in August.
It also allowed him to move past Suarez to become the leading goalscorer, but while the plaudits have flooded in for Bellamy as he looks to make the most of his second spell at Anfield, he is just happy to help the team improve.
“I’ve always had the view that a goal is a bonus for me,” he told liverpoolfc.tv.
“They don’t alter how I go about my game. The aim for me is to try to play as big a part as I can in the game.
“If I’m able to score a goal or create one then that’s a bonus.
“For me it’s just about trying to help the to team win games – that’s more important.
“I’ve never really been the one that’s trying to get personal satisfaction. The aim is to try and win, if goals come then great, but winning games is more important.
“To win this award two months on the run means something to me. Do I think it’ll be a third? No, so I’m going to milk this one this month.”
