Klopp: We can handle the pressure of top-four race
Jürgen Klopp has backed his Liverpool team to thrive under the pressure of the race to qualify for the Champions League.
Going into this weekend’s round of fixtures, the Reds sit third in the Premier League - four points clear of fifth-placed Manchester United, who have a game in hand.
Liverpool suffered defeats in two finals last season and fell at the last-four stage of this campaign’s EFL Cup, but the manager is confident they have the mental fortitude required to secure a return to European club football’s top table.
“Since I have been here we had one semi-final defeat,” Klopp, whose side host Southampton on Sunday, said.
“[We had] A very good performance against Man City in the [League Cup] final - that was not about not handling pressure. Yes, we did not win the penalty shoot-out, but if this is about not handling pressure I don’t know what you think it says about England teams over the years.
“Everybody would say that is more luck than pressure. We had the [Europa League] semi-final against Villarreal and handled the pressure, world class.
“We talk about one game and then forget five or six other games where we handled pressure really well.
“So far I haven’t seen a sign that we cannot handle pressure. I actually thought that when we had pressure we are always at our best. Maybe not always, but most of the time.”
With three games still to play, the Reds have already amassed 69 points in the Premier League this season - nine more than they did throughout the whole of 2015-16.
Making such an improvement and challenging for a top-four finish in a division that includes ‘the strongest competitors in the world’ proves Liverpool are progressing, Klopp feels.
“I’ve not been long enough here but it is a little bit like this: Liverpool always start the season with the biggest dreams, and at the moment when it looks like they cannot reach it then everyone goes: ‘Again!’,” he added.
“There were moments this season when it was difficult but we kept on going as a team. When we lost we came back. We’ve come through difficult games - West Brom, Stoke, Watford. This is what I talk about when I talk of the development of the whole club.
“We are still kind of new. Not new enough that there is no expectation - there has to be a lot of expectation. We have a lot of expectation but now is the moment to really go for it.
“If it does not work we will speak about what we need to change after the season, but we have the strongest competitors around in the world.
“There are better teams in Spain or Germany, but none of them are as greedy as our competitors here for this kind of success. They are all fighting with everything they have.
“Doubts do not help. Bad mood, bad atmosphere, doubts from outside - it makes everything more difficult. Here we are in a position where everything is possible so let’s go for it.
“I am not sure what people thought before the season. I am sure a lot thought we should win the league, I am sure a few thought less than top four is not allowed, ignoring who else is fighting with us for it. Now we are in this position and we want to keep it or even make it better.”