Lallana: We all felt the optimism around
When the final whistle was blown to confirm a 2-0 victory for Liverpool over West Ham United on Saturday, the mood inside the home dressing room was at its most optimistic yet this season, revealed Adam Lallana.
A third straight Barclays Premier League win had been secured for Brendan Rodgers' charges, courtesy of second-half conversions by Raheem Sterling and Daniel Sturridge - marking his comeback in the finest style.
The goals were only what the Reds deserved for a controlled display against a side that had overturned them 3-1 in the reverse fixture earlier in the campaign and were one point ahead in the standings at kick-off.
As their performance gradually clicked through the gears, the noise around the stadium grew, reaching a crescendo when Sturridge ended a five-month, injury-enforced absence by taking to the turf at Anfield.
The result moved Liverpool to within four points of the division's top four, and five of third place, setting up an exciting run-in for all concerned. Not least Lallana, who felt the momentum flowing during the clash with the Hammers.
"I felt that and it rubs off on the players," the No.20 told Liverpoolfc.com. "We all kind of felt it. We feel like we've got our own identity now, a lot of the new lads have settled in.
"We've found a system that suits us well, and confidence is a huge factor. We knew it was going to take a bit of time, but we feel we've got that now. We just want to keep looking to improve and keep winning games.
"Throughout my career, every game against West Ham always seems to be difficult. Andy Carroll and Stewart Downing were coming back, I'm sure they wanted to do extra well coming back to their old club.
"West Ham have been in good form and been playing well this season, so we always knew it was going to be a tough game. Going in 0-0 at half-time, we knew we had to be patient.
"Considering the lads played 120 minutes in midweek, we kept going until the end. Sturridge coming on at the end gave us that bit extra that we needed, and there was a great feeling in the ground and around the lads.
"It was a great win for us, off the back of three cup games. We knew it was vitally important to get back to winning ways in the league and continue our good form. A clean sheet, Studge came back and got a goal - it was vitally important and we're just looking to kick on now."
Lallana recorded the highest passing accuracy of any player that started Saturday's afternoon kick-off on Merseyside, exhibiting his close control and fleet feet as part of a three-prong attack with Philippe Coutinho and Sterling.
The 3-4-3 formation that has been deployed by Rodgers since mid-December, and coincided with the side's strongest run of form this season, presents the 26-year-old with a distribution option at every turn.
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He explained: "It gives the midfield two options and the same for me and Philippe, or whoever plays that position. You've got men wide, Raheem or Sturridge forward. It's not just the system.
"It's where we are as a team at the minute. When things are going well, you seem to have that extra spring in your step and extra bit of confidence. It shows on the pitch. But we have worked hard to get here.
"We had a tough start to the season, for one reason or another; we don't like to make excuses but we were finding it tough. I've always said that going through a tough spell like that would make us better.
"I see that at the minute on the pitch and there is still room for improvement as well. You look at the squad now and the manager has got options everywhere.
"With all the games - the cup replay, the Europa League starting back and we want to finish strongly and get into the top four - we're going to need every one of the squad."
In turning around a testing beginning to 2014-15, Liverpool now find themselves firmly in contention for a Champions League qualification berth - and Lallana pledged there will be no resting on laurels by anybody.
"We have set the standards and shown how we can play, and shown that we can keep clean sheets," said the England international. "During the beginning of the season we were struggling.
"But we have put the hard work in on the training ground and it's going well and paying off. But not for one minute will me or any of the lads be happy with that - we want to keep improving and keep doing better.
"You can see it's going to go down to the wire. We did start off slowly, but our league form is brilliant. With Sturridge coming back we have got more options.
"We just need to focus on a game at a time and the next game is Bolton away. They caused us a few problems at home and made it difficult for us, so we know we're going to have to go there and be patient. But we're fully confident that we can get the win."