Programme notesJürgen Klopp on momentum, maintaining standards and building on midweek
Maintaining and improving standards is key to Liverpool continuing the momentum of recent weeks, explained Jürgen Klopp as he targets the strongest possible finish to the campaign.
The Reds host Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield this afternoon looking to earn a fourth successive victory in the Premier League and build on the midweek comeback win at West Ham United.
“For us, it is a case of carrying on where we left off at West Ham on Wednesday night,” the boss writes in his official programme notes.
“This was not a perfect game from us, or a perfect performance, but this is actually what I liked most about it. Of course, we never want to concede a goal but the reaction when we did was absolutely outstanding.
“Dealing with setbacks is part and parcel of football and the reality is that no matter how much you try to avoid them, you can guarantee they will happen. The key then is to respond in the right way and against West Ham this happened in a way that was better than anything I have seen from us this season.
“One of the key factors in this was remaining stable. We know that our opponents are going to have times in the game when they have the ball and are on top, but it is during these periods when we have to ensure that not every spell of possession ends in a chance or a shot.
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“This was the area that pleased me most in midweek. Our stability gave us the opportunity to strike back and we took it.
“I understand that victories like this, particularly coming on the back of a couple more wins, will raise expectations about what might be possible, and I have no problems with this. But while others may focus on what our targets might be, we have to remain focused on one thing and one thing only: maintaining standards in whatever fixture comes next and even improving on them if possible.
“This is not to pour water on whatever hopes people may have. I always want our supporters especially to think and dream as big as possible because your dreams fire our own ambition. But football has taught me that when things are going badly you should focus on the next game and when things are going well you should focus on the next game. This is the only way for us to be.
“I know that in England that if you look after the pennies, the pounds will look after themselves, and the logic of this fits with our approach. If we want to achieve the big things, then we have to look after the smaller things first and foremost.
“There is no need for us to talk about what we would like to do – we just have to pay attention to what we have to do.
“The good news is that the league table looks better than it did a few weeks ago which shows that we are going in the right direction. Every game that we play from now until the end of the season is an opportunity to build on what we are doing, so it makes sense that we should look to do this.
“The other positive is that whatever progress we make from now until our final fixture will not be wasted. It not only gives us a chance to finish this season as well as possible, it will also help us ahead of next season. Momentum is a wonderful thing if it is going in the right direction, so the more we can maintain it the better.”
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This article has been automatically translated and, while all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, some errors in translation are possible. Please refer to the original English-language version of the article for the official version.