'Gini showed just why he is so important for us'
Georginio Wijnaldum’s all-action display against Tottenham Hotspur showed just why Jürgen Klopp brought him to Anfield last summer, according to Gary Gillespie.
On his return to the starting XI on Saturday, the Dutchman provided a sumptuous assist for Sadio Mane’s opening goal and produced an energetic midfield performance that proved the catalyst for Liverpool’s 2-0 win.
Reds legend Gillespie believes Wijnaldum's efforts against Spurs proved yet again that he has been a success story for Klopp this season, and he expects the No.5 to be key to any hopes of securing Champions League football for 2017-18.
“First of all, it was a performance that we needed,” the former defender told Liverpoolfc.com.
“A string of results had set us back a bit but I thought the performance against Tottenham was really good and Wijnaldum was really good in the middle of the park.
“He is one of those players who, for me, doesn’t really get a lot of recognition, but what he does is everything simple but really effective.
“Wijnaldum is a key part of how Liverpool want to play. He is such an important player for us and he will have a key role right until the end of the season.
“The other thing I like is he has got goals in him. We have seen that already with key goals against the likes of Manchester City and Chelsea.
“All-round I thought he was excellent and he is a good foil for the players we have in attack, the likes of Roberto Firmino, Philippe Coutinho, Sadio Mane and Adam Lallana. He gives us that balance we need in the middle of the park.
“You also look at him on the pitch and he always seems to be smiling. He is obviously a happy-go-lucky kind of chap but he has got a good mentality and whenever you enjoy your job you will get the best out of your players.
“You can tell he enjoys it and I like that.”
After crashing out of both domestic cup competitions in January, Klopp’s charges only have the Premier League to focus on for the remainder of the campaign.
But, seeing the positives, Gillespie is certain the Reds will feel the benefits of playing just one game a week between now and May.
“The fixture jam really came at the wrong time for us in January,” he added.
“We had one or two injuries, we were without Mane, and it was tough for us.
“Listen, we all wanted to be in the cup final and get back to Wembley again and we would have loved a good run in the FA Cup too, but it wasn’t to be.
“We now have to concentrate on what was obviously the goal at the start of the season which was to get back in the Champions League.
“Liverpool are in a really strong position and before the Christmas break we were talking about bigger and better things, so whether we got carried away or not I’m not 100 per cent sure, but Champions League is very much achievable.
“What we have seen throughout the season is that none of the big teams have outplayed us by any stretch of the imagination.
“We have really held our own so if we can perform as we know we can perform like how we did against Chelsea, how we played against Tottenham, then we are more than a match for all of those teams.
“We have to do it on a consistent level though against every team and that is the test for the players now until the end of the season.”