Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp (Adrian DENNIS)
Jurgen Klopp believes Liverpool have a “different” mentality this season as the Reds aim to maintain their blistering start against West Ham on Sunday.
Klopp’s side have won four of their five Premier League matches and kicked off their Europa League campaign with a 3-1 victory over LASK on Thursday.
That was the fourth time in six matches that Liverpool had bounced back from going behind.
Despite the early setbacks, strong second-half performances have inspired wins over Bournemouth, Newcastle, Wolves and LASK.
Klopp is delighted with Liverpool’s resilience after last season’s disappointing campaign, but he is not quite ready to use the “mentality monsters” tag he bestowed on his Champions League and Premier League winners from 2019 and 2020.
“I understand why you are asking me this. It was not long ago I was being asked about us being 1-0 down, 1-0 down, 1-0 down,” he told reporters on Friday.
“I understand that this may come up again some time, but this feels completely different.
“When I said that phrase (mentality monsters) at that time, it was not that I planned that way. I just remember watching a game and thinking, ‘oh my God, how did they come back?'”
Liverpool host West Ham this weekend looking to keep the pressure on leaders Manchester City.
Klopp is trying to mastermind a title challenge at the same time as bedding in an entirely new midfield.
Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, James Milner and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain all left in the close-season to be replaced by Alexis Mac Allister, Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai.
“We have changed a few things and turned games around. Staying in a game is a duty and we did that so far which is why we have turned situations,” Klopp said.
“Mentality? That is something we will create. What we have now is a mood. This is a spirit we have created because the boys really like playing with each other.
“If you saw the dressing room there was a real competitive mood there. I liked that a lot. Again, the boys who came on enjoyed the minutes they got.
“Something is growing but I have no clue how it will go.”
smg/pb
