RIGHT STUFF
TOMORROW, KICK-OFF 8PM Klopp’s No.2: Trent’s a true role model... a Liverpool lad who has the drive, guts and ambition to be best in the world
LIVERPOOL v WEST HAM
Lijnders, who returned to Anfield in the summer of 2018 to become Klopp’s right-hand man, says the secret to the Kop boss’ success has been his ability to tap into “the Liverpool Way”. And the Dutchman reckons that no one illustrates the success story better than born-andbred Scouser Trent Alexander-arnold, the full-back he helped to develop when he first arrived on Merseyside six years ago to work in the club’s academy. Lijnders, 37, said: “It is so important that we achieve success with young players from the Liverpool academy and that there is a strong bond between the city and the team. “We want to see the city of Liverpool itself in the team. “We work hard. We fight. We are angry when we don’t have the ball. “For me, the biggest development over the past one-and-a-half years is the fact that we always show that we are together. “For me, the big difference between a good team and a world-class team is when players with such massive individual quality can put the team above themselves. That is Liverpool.” Lijnders feels Alexanderarnold is the embodiment of what Klopp wants to achieve He added: “Trent gives colour to our team. He was my captain in Liverpool’s Under-17s team, when I came from Porto as a youth coach. Our bond was so strong and what he is doing right now makes me so proud.
“Trent is working like crazy to improve all the time. He has a natural way of showing his guts and drive to perform at a very high level.
“He is a real Scouser, and he is so close to the supporters.”
Liverpool go into tomorrow night’s clash against West Ham with the club’s first title in 30 years virtually guaranteed.
The Reds, who have won 25 and drawn one of their first 26 games, are chasing a raft of records to rival Arsenal’s Invincibles and Manchester City’s Centurions.
And there is also a belief that they can overturn a 1-0 first-leg defeat to Atletico Madrid in their bid to defend the
Champions League. But Lijnders insists that the players will not lose their focus.
He said: “We never talk about breaking records, we only talk about how to solve the next problem.
“We learned, during the past few seasons, that we must only focus on what we can control. All the rest is not important.
“The intensity of our training sessions is probably even higher than during our matches.
“That’s why players, who don’t get much playing time, can easily pick up the rhythm of our game when they are sent on the pitch.
“That is what we demand. If you want to play like we do at Liverpool, then you have to train like that every day. There is no other way.”
Klopp has warned his players not to expect an easy ride against relegation-threatened West Ham.
The Hammers lost 2-0 to City at the Etihad on Wednesday night and, although the hosts dominated possession, they found West Ham stubborn opponents.
Klopp said: “They didn’t have (Felipe) Anderson on the pitch and they didn’t have (Sebastien) Haller, I know both and I like them a lot.
“(Manuel) Lanzini was on the bench, too, so you see the quality they have.
“I watched the game on Wednesday and they were not outplayed like you would expect with City on the pitch.”
21 Liverpool Right-back 81 72 6,486 4 23 141 87 54 4,548 3,477 76.5