Calm busters
DEJAN LOVREN knows what the pressure of Anfield expectation can do to the mind of a Liverpool player.
The centre-back admits in previous seasons there have been times when he and his teammates have wilted under the demands of a support that has waited so long to taste title glory.
In the past, the Reds have flattered to deceive, being top at Christmas but fading away when the season reaches its business end.
Three times in fact in the Premier League era, since they were last champions in 1990.
Yet this season, as the Anfield men hit the top once more, Lovren believes there is a difference within this squad.
They have self-belief but, even more importantly, a relaxed feel around the training ground.
Asked what he and his team-mates are doing to cope with the pressure, Lovren said: “There’s no pressure. In the previous years, yes. But now when you look in the dressing room, when you go into Melwood in the morning everybody is happy.
“We can’t talk about something that will happen in five or six months, we go game by game and will see where we finish.”
Liverpool famously, slipped up in the title race – literally – in the BY DAVID MADDOCK season before Lovren arrived. In 2013-14 Steven Gerrard’s stumble against Chelsea – under boss Brendan Rodgers – took the trophy away even as they clasped one hand around it.
Before that, the Reds also led at the midway point in 2008-09 – when they lost only twice all season but were eventually overpowered by Manchester United – and in 1996-97.
But Lovren claims the current team has slowly learned not to look back at history or forward to what they hope to achieve.
Instead, the calm around the training ground allows them to concentrate fully on the task in hand.
He said: “We don’t look at who is behind us or in front. It’s more only about us and that’s how we should do it always.
“We learn from all these previous seasons. When you look against Newcastle it was quite a tough first half, there were chances but we couldn’t find the right spot to score.
“Luckily I scored but again we had this winning mentality that kept us going.”
It helps, of course, when you have a record-breaking defence.
Seven goals conceded at the half way point of the season is the best at that stage in the history of England’s top flight, equalling Chelsea’s record.
It is almost impossible to fathom from a team that their own manager admitted last season was too prone to conceding goals under pressure.
The arrival of former Celtic defender Virgil van Dijk has helped of course but Lovren believes it is a mentality that courses through the entire team now.
He said: “The foundation isn’t about five players behind. It’s about Mo, Bobby, Sadio, Shaq, everyone up front, they are the first defenders. “We know when we don’t concede a goal, we score. That’s the key for us and we need to always stay hungry. When we lose the ball, get it back. “It was quite tough against Newcastle, because you also have good opponents. Next game Arsenal, other game City, but we know how to control these games.”