Liverpool have gone back to basics in an attempt to get back to their best.
Jurgen Klopp’s No 2 Pep Lijnders claims they see the restart after the World Cup as a reset for their difficult season. Liverpool are 15 points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal and face a fight to make the Champions League places.
They return to action against bitter rivals Manchester City at the Etihad and Lijnders says they used their Dubai training camp to reinforce the principles, which have made them so successful. "We went to Dubai and we could refresh our ideas, refresh our principles and we could really train,” he said.
“Principles like moving together as a team, so when you lose the ball, you’re always there. Being aggressive in the moment we don’t have the ball, where we want to be different from all the other teams, especially higher up the pitch.
“The confidence and conviction in our build-up, that we move together and we can bring the ball out and the flexibility in this. These things that make us, us.
“Sometimes when things don’t go well, maybe you lose some of the core strengths, but you have to focus on the other ones. We see it as a new start. The boys are hungry, they’re passionate, they want to show this on the pitch.”
Lijnders felt Liverpool turned the corner before the World Cup break with their back-to-back league wins over Tottenham and Southampton.
“I think we were on our way back towards the end, to be honest,” said the Dutchman. “I felt for sure that when we got momentum, it would be the World Cup.
“We used the time, which was really helpful, not just to train the lungs, the legs and the heart, but also to work the eyes and the mind with video meetings. We know we can still be successful because there are many things to play for, so that’s what we are going to try.
“We know against City there will be moments where you have to be really together, where it will not be easy. It’s never a boring game against them. Both teams will put on a great show, for sure.”
Lijnders claims Klopp will give Liverpool’s kids some more game time, like he did in the previous round against Derby.Age is just a number for us, that’s really important to understand,” he said. “We don’t look to experience in that way.
“Usually the League Cup is a perfect moment to use the whole squad. Now it’s a different situation because we have had a long time off.
“We still believe that we need to give our talents chances, not just against lower-league opposition but also against Premier League opposition, because we believe in them.”
