Mings in pledge to Villa fans
Oxlade-Chamberlain: We started planning this summer’s triumph straight after the bitter blow of being pipped at the post by City last season
JURGEN KLOPP set the target to his Liverpool players last summer.
Liverpool had finished the 2018-19 season with an astonishing 97 points and yet still were only good enough to be runners-up to all-conquering Manchester City.
They gained plaudits but hearing “in any other year, 97 points...” was no comfort.
Lesser teams would have crumbled in the face of City’s dominance. After all, Pep Guardiola’s team had won back-toback titles, having swept all before them in 2018 with a record-breaking 100 points.
City had raised the bar to a new level and the challenge for Liverpool boss Klopp was to ensure his players had the mentality as well as the quality to be ready to go again.
Klopp challenged his players to come back even better, even stronger and they have responded with records of their own, breaking points barriers and rewriting history books.
But there is a clear admiration among the Liverpool players for what City achieved, especially as it pushed them to new levels.
Midfielder Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain said: “I have a lot of respect for what Man City did. They won it with 100 points, then they won it the following year with us pushing them the whole way to win it with 98 points.
“To do something truly special, to come back again and fight us every step of the way, takes real character.
“We weren’t very happy but as professionals we all respected it from their team, their manager and players that year.
“They were not happy and wanted to go again. Then for us to go so close, we’ve had to take on that mindset and try to better that.
“Sometimes when you do something amazing it can be hard to go again and you’re asking: ‘How are we going to top that?’
“But that’s something we spoke about: ‘We need to improve, need to get better and do more so let’s do more’.” It is that mentality and strength of character which pushed Liverpool through, took their standards even higher and is why they have been unstoppable this season.
The likes of James Milner and Jordan Henderson have used their experience and character to push players further. OxladeChamberlain believes their in-built will to win is the secret of the success that finally has Liverpool fans revelling in the title of English champions and, for the first time, Premier League champions.
“I think some people are born with that mentality,” said OxladeChamberlain. “We’ve got great leaders in players like James Milner, Hendo. They are guys that have got that built in. The manager. The environment around this club.
“This team has got no one with an ego, there’s not one lad in training who doesn’t give their absolute everything. They all give 100 per cent and that goes a long way.
“For those that maybe don’t have that natural instinct they can be taught it and will buy into it. That’s what’s happened in this team. The manager demands that players take it on board and soak it up.
“It’s not easy, it’s mentally tough, but that’s what it takes to be part of this team. We’ve still got a lot more. The closer you get, human nature means the easier it comes to take your foot off the gas.
“But as players we keep having to remind ourselves it’s not acceptable.”
And, ultimately, Klopp’s clever manmanagement and his ability to take the pressure off the players even ahead of the biggest games has been crucial.
“That’s all the manager says to us: ‘You’ve got nothing else to do tonight apart from going out to win this game. Give everything you can for 90 minutes and that’s the only way you can get through it mentally’.”
TYRONE MINGS has promised Aston Villa fans the team will fight to the last drop – despite their survival hopes suffering another heavy blow.
Leander Dendoncker’s strike sunk them as Wolves grabbed a 1-0 win at Villa Park to keep Dean Smith’s side in the drop zone.
Villa go to champions Liverpool next on Sunday having failed to win any of their four games since the top flight returned.
But defiant Mings said: “We have to believe now and we have to get through this period, continue what we’ve been showing so far and give more.
“We have a great belief in the dressing room, I don’t believe for any moment we’ll throw the towel in.
“The games are so tight, unfortunately we have come out the wrong side.
“We are working tirelessly to try to pick up the points we need. It’s a very tough division, but it’ll come if we stick together.
“We’re at the stage of the season where we need points and there wasn’t much between us and Wolves on Saturday.” WOLVES WANT TO FLY TO EUROPE: PULLOUT P4-5
‘There’s not one lad in training who doesn’t give their absolute everything’