'Without putting the work in, you will struggle'
Hard work has provided the foundation for Dejan Lovren's recent run of fine form for Liverpool, according to the man himself.
An injury to Mamadou Sakho in early November provided an opportunity for the Croatia international to establish himself in the starting XI, and he has been a steady presence at the back ever since.
Lovren's performances are all the more pleasing given he has overcome a difficult first season at Anfield before showing fans why the club were so keen to acquire him from Southampton in the summer of 2014.
But he believes none of that would have been possible without putting in the hours on the training ground.
"Without putting the work in, you will struggle," the No.6 told the latest edition of Liverpool FC's official monthly magazine.
"Even when you're at the top you have to make sure you concentrate because the easiest thing is to drop down a gear then before you know it that becomes your level.
"Mentality is such an important part of sport. I have a winning mentality. I always want to be first, always want to be winning. That is the most important thing in football today.
"I would say that without that, you cannot survive."
Reflecting on his maiden campaign on Merseyside, Lovren highlighted a disrupted pre-season campaign and increased expectations as contributory factors to his form.
The 26-year-old insists he is on the 'right path' now, however, with the experiences of the last year having stood him in good stead this time around.
"It was a big difference moving from Lyon to Southampton, and then going from Southampton to Liverpool was a much bigger difference again because of the increased expectations and everything," he added.
"But now I feel that I understand everything about the club, the fans and the people. They are really living more than 100 per cent for Liverpool.
"It's a huge club and I saw this first-hand when I went out to Asia and Australia for the pre-season. It's times like those that you see just how big the club is.
"When my transfer to Liverpool went through, the team were already away on tour and I couldn't get the visa I needed to join them.
"When you have a pre-season with your team for one month or so and then you start the season, you feel like you are with them. That was the case this season. But last year I was with them just three days and then I had the first game against Southampton.
"It wasn't perfect and expectation was big on my shoulders. I'm extremely proud that I'm here. I want to improve every day.
"In every training session and every game I am striving to show that I want to stay here as long as possible. You need to have some time with your team to settle down and then it will go in the right way. I think I'm on the right path now."
Liverpool have kept six clean sheets in Lovren's 13 starts so far this season but the centre-back is more focused on winning than simply ensuring the defence remains miserly.
"I don't really look at things like that because the most important thing is the team and the only statistic that matters is that we win," he continued.
"But if we can continue as we had done in the four or five games before the Crystal Palace match, and the next few games after, that will be a step in the right direction.
"We were disappointed with the Palace game but prior to that I think we were more together.
"When we played against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, we were 1-0 down but showed character, togetherness and team spirit and in the end we came away with a 3-1 victory which of course was a very good result."