Jurgen Klopp’s right-hand man has opened up on the squad’s relentless quest for perfection, hailing their attitude and passion
Liverpool assistant manager Pepijn Lijnders has hailed the mentality of the current squad and says that their passion and ambition is what separates the Reds from their rivals.
Jurgen Klopp’s side defeated Tottenham in the Champions League final in 2019 and have since built on that success, forging a 13-point lead at the top of the Premier League following a run of 19 wins from their opening 20 matches.
Lijnders, who re-joined the coaching staff in 2018 after a brief spell at NEC in his homeland, believes the foundation for the ongoing success of the team comes from the attitude that they show on a daily basis, which surpasses anything he has previously seen.
“The passion and ambition of these players is from another planet,” he told T he Athletic.
“Their self-confidence, their self-criticism, that is what makes us consistent. These boys have the ability to make even a simple rondo competitive.
“People talk about going game to game — no, we commit session to session. Small things make big things happen. You have to focus on doing the small things right constantly.
“The passion and ambition I see, especially on the rainy and windy days here, that for me is what separates us from the others.”
Victory in the Champions League in Madrid last June has underpinned their recent run, according to the Dutchman.
“Winning something big puts more conviction, more trust into everything; subconsciously you feel stronger. There’s a real hunger to fight for more prizes,” he added.
“But for me it’s about the journey and how the team developed. The trust I got from keeping things simple, never giving up on our way, believing in training and video meetings to improve, clear messages with a lot of conviction from Jurgen or myself, repeating that process over and over again.
“Trusting the players to always look at our best games and think about what steps won us those games.
“Was it our full-backs being constantly ready to jump? Was it the centre-backs coming in front of offensive players rather than stepping back? Was it our midfielders being really together and always connected rather than just searching for it?
“It’s about doing it our way again, becoming better and searching for perfection. We know it doesn’t exist but you still have to search for it.”
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