FLYING...
Lovren insists rampant Reds have the form and mental strength to sustain title bid
DEJAN LOVREN knows what the pressure of Anfield expectation can do to the mind of a Liverpool player.
In previous seasons with the club, he admits, there have been times when he and his team-mates have wilted under the demands of a support that has waited so long to taste title glory.
In the past, they have flattered to deceive, have been top at Christmas, but faded away when the season reached its business end.
Three times, in fact, during the Premier League era, since they were last champions, in 1990.
But this season, with the Reds at the top again, he insists there is a real difference within the squad.
A belief, for certain, but, even more importantly, a relaxed feel around the training ground, where that outside pressure simply cannot penetrate.
Asked what he and his teammates are doing to cope with the pressure, Lovren
(right) responded with a smile.
“There’s no pressure, to be honest,” he said.
“In the previous years, yes, but now when you look in the dressing room, or go into Melwood in the morning, everyone’s happy, nobody talks about anything else except the next game.
“We can’t talk about something that will happen in five or six months, we go game by game and we will see where we finish.” Liverpool, infamously, slipped up in the title race in 2013-14 – the season before Lovren arrived – when Steven Gerrard’s stumble gave the trophy away, even as they had one hand clasped around it.
Before that, the Reds also led at the midway point in 2008-09 – when they lost only twice all season, but were overpowered by Manchester United – and in 1996-97.
But Lovren says the current team has slowly learnt neither to look back nor forward, at history or what they hope to achieve. Instead, the calm around the training ground allows them to concentrate fully on the task in hand.
“We don’t look at who is behind us or in front of us. It’s more only about us and that’s how we should do it always,” he said.
“We learned from those previous seasons. When you look at the Newcastle game, it was quite a tough first half, there were chances, but we couldn’t find the right spot to score.
“Luckily enough, I scored, but again we had a winning mentality to keep us going, and the second half we played like a new game.”
It helps, of course, when you have a record-breaking defence.
Seven goals conceded at the halfway point of the season is the best at that stage in the history of the English top flight, equalling Chelsea’s record.
It is almost impossible to fathom from a team, which their own manager admitted, was too prone to conceding goals under pressure.
Virgil van Dijk’s arrival has helped, but Lovren believes it is a mentality that runs through the entire team.
“The foundation isn’t about five players behind. It’s about Mo, Bobby, Sadio, Shaq, everyone up front, they are the first defenders,” he explained.
“We know, when we don’t concede a goal, we score. That’s the key for us and we need to stay hungry. When we lose the ball, get it back quickly.
“It was tough against Newcastle, as you also have good opponents.
“Next game Arsenal, then Man City – but we know how to control these games.”