Liverpool have stomach for the fight, says Lovren
Liverpool defender Dejan Lovren enters the crucial final two games of the season insisting his team have the bigmatch temperament to cope with the stress of a contest for a top-four finish.
Liverpool’s league form has dipped recently, particularly at Anfield, where they have lost to Crystal Palace and been held to draws by Bournemouth and Southampton. Those results, along with two cup final defeats and one semi-final defeat during Jürgen Klopp’s 18-month reign as manager, have led to criticism that Liverpool stars have a tendency to shrink on the big occasion.
“I think there is all-season pressure on us, but it is normal,” said Lovren ahead of today’s trip to West Ham. “Sometimes we accept that we didn’t play well. I don’t need to listen to some- body else tell me we played badly, because I know first and even the manager knows. You need to manage how to improve the next game. It is not head in the sand. These two games will define our season.
“We would not be here if we were not ready to fight. It is different between West Ham and us. They are safe. We need to win more than them.”
Liverpool’s recent league troubles against three of the division’s more modest sides has continued a pattern of performing superbly against rivals at the top of the table but struggling against those lower down.
“Against bigger teams, they play also,” said Lovren. “They are wide open, they create chances and we have players like Coutinho, Firmino. When opponents are wide open, they will get the ball and make chances and score.
“You see Southampton – seven be- hind [the ball], three in the middle, and the striker was like a midfield player. It is not the easiest way to find a solution.”
Lovren’s own form this season was rewarded with a four-year contract, worth a reported £100,000 a week, a sign of the esteem in which he is held by Klopp. “He’s definitely the right manager for me,” said Lovren. “He believed in me. He is like a father to us, not a best friend but someone to help you and give the best advice, and it is up to you if you want to accept and follow him, but everyone does.”