The assistant manager spoke with the media from the AXA Training Centre prior to Wednesday’s fourth-round match at Deepdale.
Read on for our round-up...
On the buzz around the club after the 5-0 win at Manchester United and the need to refocus ahead of facing Preston…
We went there to get the three points and we did – it’s not bigger than that, I think. It’s always nice if you go away to a top team and put a performance in like that. I think it was a historic night but the manager spoke so much about it already after the game, so I think there’s not much more to say. What’s in the past is in the past, we look forward and the next game comes already quick.
On making changes to the team in the last round and Liverpool’s intention to progress in the Carabao Cup…
I think our priorities are to be good in game number one of the season, in game number nine – the Man United game – and in game number 38 of the season. We want to be good in each game, I think that’s what the fans expect from us. The only way to do that is to be consistent – consistent in our way of play, in our ideas, in how we want to put our game in the opposition half, how we train each time. The second thing is to respect the recovery process and is to use our squad. Only that will make us consistent over a long period of time and that’s what we want to do. Our game needs freshness, we want our players to be unpredictable, we want them to feel free to attack. It’s really important that this freshness is there. We want to attack tomorrow’s game, that’s the only thing that counts and the only way to press how we press is with players who are fully, fully ready to do that. I’m 100 per cent how we showed in each year and each game in this cup is that we’re going to play our way and with the commitment of our players. We just look at it game by game, that’s what the fans expect. If we show our mentality, if we show our hunger then we will be good in game number one, game number 10 etcetera.
On the team’s prolific goalscoring and whether a tactical change has contributed to it…
Shooting from everywhere! No, I think it has to do with how the team is playing. You can never judge scoring just by the goals scored, it’s how we move the ball from out the back, it’s how we are protected, it’s the whole package that creates our front players getting constantly good positions to score. And then the quality of our front three, we said they look like raptors in Jurassic Park. They go for it, they are lethal and that’s what we want of course. If you score in the right moments, these games – for example, against Man United – can happen as well. But did we change anything? No, we always just want to improve. Sometimes improving is just going back to basics and that’s what we did in the pre-season. Also, top players – and of course we have a few, I think – they need a break. After emotional periods, after a lot of finals, a lot of intense seasons, it’s good for them to have a break because of what I said before: if you want to reach consistency you have to respect recovery, the process of recovery. Not only between the games but also between the seasons. Long may it continue.
On Ibrahima Konate’s performance at Old Trafford, how he has settled in at the club and his potential…
First of all, big compliment to Ibou. Also a big compliment to our last line, I think, but especially for Ibou. Coming in against United is never easy, it shows over the last years the results there and how we performed there. So, big compliment to him, because if you talk about Man United you talk about speed. If you talk about Man United, you speak about lethalness as well. It’s not easy to control the speed of Rashford, of Greenwood, the speed and mind of Bruno, and the lethalness of Cristiano in the box. That was only possible by us staying away from the goal for long, long times, as high as possible. How he controlled together with Robbo, Trent and Virg – that’s why I want to say a big compliment to our last line – how he controlled these movements and this speed was from an absolute top level. I said it the last time, Ibou is a beast. If you play with a high line, if you play with a lot of space at your back, if you want to keep the opposition far away from your own goal, you need speed in your last line. And we have four players with real speed. I say the four, I mean Joel, Ibou, Virg and Joey. What I’m trying to say is that we have these four centre-halves who have the characteristics to play in our way and add so much to our style.
On the atmosphere in the dressing room after the victory at Old Trafford…
At Atletico when they scored the 2-2 in Madrid, everybody who was there can know the sound of the stadium in Madrid. The sound in the dressing room was like in Madrid when they scored the 2-2. I don’t know who bought the new speaker but we have a new speaker. It’s good. I think they could hear us in Liverpool. How the gaffer always says, I don’t want to make it bigger but it was a big one.
On whether it is difficult to refocus on another game following a win such as Sunday…
We are trained to do this, we are used to doing this, to play every three or four days. How I said, if you want to achieve big things you have to focus on the small things. The small things mean we have to do the session after the game right, we have to do the recovery process right for the players who played, we have to prepare the team and the players who are going to play against Preston with big respect. And what I like about us is that we don’t prepare differently if we go away to Preston or we go away to Man United and you see that in the mentality of our players and you see that in the hunger in the sessions. As long as that’s the case, if the day before the game the session is so intense and so quick and so difficult for the starters, we are really confident to attack the next game and that’s what we want: going game by game, going session by session, going recovery by recovery, focusing on the small things, doing things right, being ready and show our fans away at Preston our hunger, our desire and our way. That’s the only way to become consistent in the season.
On whether the injuries in the first-team squad mean that more youngsters are likely to get a chance on Wednesday…
I wish I could but I cannot give anything about the line-up, that would not be smart from me! The only thing I want to say is our Academy is constantly producing new players and every international break we use the time to see them, to train them, so we have a good view on what we have and there are even new players coming who really make an impact in these sessions. There’s always one or two surprises in these international breaks and if that keeps going, if we can still produce our own quality with the values of Liverpool, then we are always one step ahead of whatever may come. That’s what I like about us, that we give these young players opportunities and how I said before, I said it before the Norwich game: the young players will never let you down, never.
And did Conor Bradley let us down? Did Kaide Gordon let us down? Did Tyler Morton let us down? How did Tyler Morton, second half, improve our positional game? By speeding up with each simple, quick pass. How was he constantly available to outplay the first pressure of Norwich? How was he organising the midfield tactically when the others were putting pressure on and counter-pressing? Conor went 95 minutes as the full-back who was constantly jumping to the deep wing-back of them. These boys have heart, that’s the most important thing I think. As long as they have heart and they play with our values and they are humble, then they always get a chance. I think that’s an important part of our success over the last years, otherwise we would not speak about Curtis, about Harvey, about Trent, about all these others who made steps in their careers, about Rhys, about Nat. For example, last year: sometimes you’re searching for gold and you realise that you are sitting on it. Last year we were searching for centre-halves, we played Fabi, we played Hendo, and in the end the gold was just next to us with Nathaniel and Rhys. That’s why we came third in the league and that’s the same with young players and it’s the same with our process – sometimes you are sitting on it.
On Takumi Minamino and Divock Origi and whether they have been unlucky to not get much game time since the third round…
Divock is our top scorer in this [competition], I think he’s the club’s top scorer of overseas players in it as well. What I like about Taki and Divock is that even when they didn’t get their chance they trained with all they had and that’s why they are in the level they are in at the moment. They look really sharp. Divock is one of the world’s best finishers, and we worked with quite a few in different clubs. But he is absolutely a world-class finisher, it’s just to get him in these positions, of course… the last season has proven we will need all of our players, in one moment you think you are not necessary and then you have to play three or four games and that happened already this season with a few players. Everybody has to be ready, has to show this mentality. If you want to play for a big club then you have to train how they are training and Taki, the example against Norwich was a great example of how he easily fits in our starting line-up. It’s just, stay patient, keep training in the way they are training – that’s the most important thing, to train really hard and really good and really sharp, because then you are ready when your chance is coming.
On how much young players can learn from playing in competitive first-team games…
Young players need a lot of training, a lot of positivity and a lot of games. How I said before, if you want to be a chef you have to spend a lot of time in the kitchen! That’s the same with young players. It helps always when there are a lot of models around you, a lot of good players around you to show you the way. That’s one of our strengths, that we are educating a new generation of players. There is always new generations coming but as long as our seniors accept them and help them and develop them, and constantly are speaking with them, their future will be good. That’s what I like about the stability in our club, that we constantly search for these processes and this only happens with stability inside a club. This will never happen with changes.