Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has sent a message ahead of tonight’s game with Burnley regarding his team’s form and the challenge to be met in a “tough moment.”
The reigning Premier League champions were still top of the table when they lost 1-0 at Southampton on January 4 but by the end of their 0-0 draw with Manchester United at Anfield on January 17, they had dropped to fourth place.
They go into their fixture at home to the Clarets knowing that even a victory against Sean Dyche’s side would not improve their league position after United (2-1 v Fulham away); Manchester City (2-0 v Aston Villa home) and Leicester City (2-0 v Chelsea home) all won their midweek fixtures.
Writing in his programme notes, Klopp said: “We have to earn the right to win through our commitment. This is what we are all about and I look forward to seeing my boys embrace this challenge.
“We come into the game with some focus on our recent form and I am fine with this. It is absolutely OK for those questions to be asked.
“When you are blessed to work at this club you know each and every performance brings close scrutiny. This level of interest in us is a privilege and it’s a pressure we should embrace.
“For us, even though we are aware of the questions around us, we must not be distracted by them. Our focus must be on the solution. We are our own solution. And, in this moment, it’s my job specifically to make sure we find a way.”
Following a 7-0 goal glut at Crystal Palace on December 19, Liverpool have failed to win their following four Premier League fixtures and have gone three games without scoring in the competition for the first time since 2005.
However, Klopp, looking to steer the Reds to their first back-to-back League Championships since 1982/83 and 1983/84, insists that his team cannot dwell on their recent struggles.
*Who is top of your Liverpool transfer wishlist? Take our quick poll here.
He added: “The mindset for us should always be about looking ahead and not backwards.
“Simply reverting to what has gone before, no matter how good it was, won’t be enough in a league as competitive as this one.
“We have some basic principles in how we approach our work and we must adhere to those.
“They include being brave, showing humility by aiming to work harder than your opponent, bringing the intensity in each moment and sacrificing for the team.
“These – plus other – guiding practices, are still very much embedded into our environment.
“This team finds a way. It has done consistently for us in recent seasons and it will do now and again in the future.
“We are in a tough moment – no-one hides from this – but we view it as an opportunity. Another challenge to be met.”
