KLOPP’S Save Our Sea

Reds boss pleads for change in mindset to salvage top-four bid

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JURGEN KLOPP has told his shell-shocked players they must change their mindset to save their season.

Liverpool face two huge games at Anfield - where they have endured a miserable run of six straight defeats stretching back to last year - which could well define their campaign.

The last win on their own turf came against

Spurs on

December 16, and the Reds play

Aston Villa and Real

Madrid at home in the space of the next five crucial days.

Adding two more defeats to that streak would not only see them out of the Champions League their last chance of a trophy - but also make it immensely difficult to finish in the top four.

That would be a nightmare for the champions, and Klopp knows his team must change their mentality at home to counteract a losing run even he did not realise was so long. “We have to change that,” said the Reds boss. “But it’s not about how we can change that in training or whatever. We have to bring ourselves in the right mindset. “One of the main reasons is that there is no crowd in. There’s no doubt about that, but that’s a problem for a lot of teams.

“Apart from that, the reason we haven’t won home games is because we haven’t played well enough. So we have to change that.” Klopp though, believes it is possible to produce two moraleboosting wins to raise hopes of salvaging a trophy from what has been a desperately poor season, and keeping alive their dream of European football next season. Realistically, to finish in the top four they must beat Villa to put pressure on Spurs, Chelsea and West Ham, who stand between the Reds and fourth place. That brings the pressure of knowing one slip could be disastrous, but

Klopp argued his side have shown they thrive on that pressure, and must use it as an opportunity.

“It is both an opportunity and pressure,” he explained. “There’s no opportunity without pressure. We are at the highest level of professional football.

“We want to fight for the Champions League, both qualifying for next year and being a part of it still for this year.

“Of course we have missed our supporters at Anfield, that is the main reason we are not exactly the same at home.

“But we played very good games without supporters at home and that’s what we have to do now.”

They must do it after a display against Real Madrid that Klopp admitted was not good enough.

He said: “Although it didn’t look like it in Madrid (above), we decided when we won our three games in a row that we will chase everybody in this league.

“We want to squeeze out of this season whatever we can get.”