SIMPLY THE BEAST
Kelleher hails return of Klopp’s ‘mentality monsters’
LIVERPOOL’S “mentality monsters” are back after Caoimhin Kelleher hailed the Reds’ unbreakable spirit.
Klopp (right) famously called Liverpool his “mentality monsters” in 2019 because of their late comebacks and the Reds are showing the same qualities now.
They scored their latest-ever winner in the Premier League to beat Nottingham Forest in the 99th minute and maintain pole position in the title race.
Kelleher (left), 25, has clocked up 378 minutes without conceding a goal and he says he always believes Liverpool will win if he can keep a clean sheet.
“Obviously there’s a great mentality within the whole squad, even the youngsters, and we just have that fight and never-giveup attitude and we showed it again,” said the Republic of
Ireland international.
“I know the quality we have going forward so I always have that belief that we’ll score a goal. So, right up until the very end, I had that belief that we were going to get something.
“It’s always the motivation with myself and the back line, to keep that clean sheet. Then we know that if we keep that we’ve got a great chance of winning with the quality we have up top.
“So, I’m happy to get another one and hopefully we can keep going with that momentum and get some
more.”
Manchester City will have noted Liverpool’s latest lastgasp win and their peerless attitude ahead of Sunday’s potential title decider at Anfield.
Although Liverpool never trailed to Forest, they have taken a Premier League-high of 22 points from losing positions this season.
Kelleher has been outstanding in the absence of the injured Alisson, who is out until the end of the month, conceding just three goals in his run of six successive starts.
He made a crucial save from Anthony Elanga at Forest and says he always has to stay switched on.
“For sure, I think that’s the way it’s always been at Liverpool,” he said. “You’re not going to have much to do, but you probably get that one moment when you need to step up, so thankfully again I was able to do it.
“It’s the most important thing, that you have to stay concentrated throughout the whole game and try to keep that clean sheet.
“That’s the Premier League, every game is going to be tough. We’re going to be in for a few more of them, but we’ve showed fight and hopefully we can keep going.”