Under-promise and over-deliver

Here is another good example of expectation management.

"We don’t want to over-promise and under-deliver but I hope they see we have certainly shown a commitment to moving forward, that we are not interested in short-term results. If we can show progress that is good, and hopefully we are building a management team which can produce success year in, year out as we have in Boston.”

This is what the new Liverpool chairman Tom Werner said in a media interview last week. "We don't want to over-promise and under-deliver" is consistent with the mantra of wanting to "under-promise and over-delivery" expressed by Americans Tom Werner and John Henry since their Fenway Sports Group took over the football club in October last year.

This is a stark contrast to the gaffes dropped by another American duo, Tom Hicks and George Gillett, in the first press conference after they bought the club four years ago. Not only did they describe Liverpool Football Club as a "franchise" but also they vowed to have a "spade in the ground" in Stanley Park to build a new stadium within 60 days. Of course, history has now shown that the promise never materialised, and the ill-fated spell of ownership by the Hicks/Gillett partnership has largely contributed to the great club being dragged to the abyss of the current season.

Hopefully, the refreshing, down-to-earth approach represents a healthy turn of events and, like the first victory under King Kenny's charge on Saturday, is a promise of great things to come.