Joel Matip insists he still has absolute confidence in all his Liverpool team-mates despite the club's poor start to the Premier League season.
Jurgen Klopp's side sit sixth in the Premier League table following back-to-back victories over Tottenham Hotspur and Southampton before the season halted for the World Cup to take place in Qatar. However, they still find themselves seven points behind Antonio Conte's side, who currently occupy the final Champions League qualification place.
Back in action next week with trips to Manchester City and Aston Villa in the Carabao Cup and Premier League respectively, the Reds are currently out in Dubai at the world-famous NAS Sports Complex where they have spent time fine-tuning their preparations ahead of the resumption of club football.
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Speaking to talkSPORT, Matip hit back at the early-season criticism of him and his Reds team-mates and admitted he believes Liverpool can pose a threat to any side in world football when on peak form.
“If somebody starts struggling then the voices on the outside always get louder but I have all the confidence in my teammates and the club that we are still a strong side and can beat everyone," said the defender. “I’m not in doubt about the quality of our team. People outside will speak but to be honest I don’t care too much about these types of things.
“It’s something special to have a big break during the season like this but for us, it maybe wasn’t too bad to have to get a few more players in the team, to reorganise and to get back to our strengths.
"For me especially, because I was injured, it gives me some extra time and some games."
He added: "It will be tough for every team and we’ll see who gets the better restart but we’re looking forward to it and the team is looking good.”
Matip hasn't featured since sustaining a calf injury in the 3-2 defeat to Arsenal on October 9, but the defender is expected to feature against Manchester City next Thursday with Ibrahima Konate not likely to make a return to action until the visit of Leicester on December 30.
However, the mid-season training camp has allowed the Liverpool manager to welcome the likes of Matip and Naby Keita back into full training ahead of the resumption of the Premier League, something the 31-year-old hopes will aid Liverpool in their bid to secure Champions League qualification.
“So far we don’t have to speak about the title, we just have to improve and then we’ll see where we end up," he added. “If you want to win the Premier League then the time period we have it’s not possible, but we just want to improve and get better and then we’ll see where we end up at the end.
“At Liverpool you always want to win everything. We’re still in every competition, even if the Premier League is really far away. There’s a lot of competitions and a lot of points to gain.
“We’re far away from saying that we don’t care about the Premier League and that other things are more important. We just want to get as many points as possible and beat everyone, so we’ll see.”
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