Liverpool's confidence is coming back, says Lucas

Lucas Leiva, the Liverpool midfielder, feels the pressure has eased on the Anfield club after back-to-back wins. But the Brazilian has warned that the team cannot afford to let momentum slip if they are to turn around their poor start to the season.

The Reds finally pulled themselves out of the relegation zone on Sunday as they beat Bolton 1-0 at the Reebok Stadium with a late Maxi Rodriguez goal. Coming after last week's victory over Blackburn, the result lifted them six places to 12th but Lucas is adamant the club must now press on.

The Brazilian said: "It's three points and I think everyone can see we are improving all the time. Of course we were under pressure. We still have to improve in the league but I think we are going the right way. In every game we are playing better and hopefully now in the next few games we get points and improve our position. The only way is playing well and I think winning will give everyone the confidence to keep going."

Lucas was impressed by the efforts of fellow South American Rodriguez, who is starting to establish himself as a fixture in the side. The Argentine raced through to poke home the vital goal – his first strike since April – from a clever backheel by Fernando Torres, and Lucas thought there was a touch of Brazilian magic about the move.

"I think Maxi scored a goal like Romario used to score, it was very similar," said the 23-year-old. "I was telling him it was a nice goal. I think Maxi is a very intelligent player. He is not so big, so has to play in space and cannot fight too much. He has a lot of technique so I think these kind of players always help you in the team.

"In the last two victories I think as a team everyone was playing really well and everyone can see the understanding between the players is better. I think these two victories will give us a lot of confidence to keep going."

Bolton made life difficult for Roy Hodgson's men and were unfortunate to see their unbeaten home record this season ended. Lucas said: "It was a difficult game, of course. They have two big strikers and long balls always make it difficult for us. But at the end I think we tried to keep the ball on the ground and play our football, and at the end we could score a goal."

Such is the congested nature of the Premier League table that Bolton and Liverpool are now level on points.

That is a remarkable position given that a fortnight ago Liverpool were wallowing in 19th place – their worst start to a season in 57 years – while Bolton had been winning plaudits for their performances and results, particularly in earning a point against Manchester United.