Lijnders: How Reds can turn draws into wins
Pepijn Lijnders believes extra calmness when playing between the lines can help Liverpool bring an end to their recent run of draws, starting with tonight's clash with AFC Bournemouth.
But the first-team development coach has few qualms over other aspects of the Reds' tactical play of late and is certain a spate of wins is just around the corner.
Jürgen Klopp's team have seen eight of their last nine outings in all competitions end in a stalemate, and were most recently held by Southampton at Anfield in the Barclays Premier League on Sunday.
However, Lijnders is encouraged by the manner in which the ball is being moved up the pitch into the final third, and the amount of opportunities being created.
In fact, the Dutch coach only hopes to see a touch more composure in key moments in future games - a factor that he thinks could make a world of difference.
"If you look at it from a tactical point of view, [we have] more possession of the ball, a clear pathway going forward so we can always create a free player, we can always step out," he told Liverpoolfc.com.
"Final third play, we create chances and the amount of chances is fine - you don't need to create 40 or 50, you need to create enough so that you have time to build an attack.
"The fact is, if we go into the final third and they are playing between our midfield and attack, so between their defence and midfield, we have to dominate that space and be calm and see how their defensive line is opening up or just closing down.
"That calmness in turning and playing inside there, outplaying opponents, and not just creating chances but creating better chances, real chances, and getting the player in front of the goalkeeper [is key].
"When we are crossing, arriving in the right areas, [challenging] for the ball that's dropping, maybe not scoring in the first wave but scoring in the second wave.
"Those small things in the final third, I think that's why we are drawing games.
"It's not about the possession, it's not about constructing the game through the free space, it's not about the braveness crossing their lines, it's not about them pressing us and we can't get out."
An injection of tranquility in the final third will help the Reds to fashion better quality opportunities, according to Lijnders.
In his words, it would allow the players to carve out more 'unmissable' chances for each other, which is the ultimate aim for Klopp and his team.
"In the final third - the nice word is clinical, but I don't believe that - it's about creating that chance that's unmissable, getting Christian [Benteke] or Divock [Origi] in front of the goalkeeper," he added.
"It's about getting that cross that is perfect for Christian, or when it drops Milly [James Milner] or Emre [Can] are there to finish it off.
"That organisation and that calmness if we go into the final third and the pure quality of our playing and combinations to get behind their defensive line, that's creativity and that's in the end what we want.
"We don't want to dominate the game in the back, we want to dominate the game between midfield and attack and we want to dominate the game to get behind that defensive line.
"That's something for sure that will develop because of the sessions, what's going on is always about that attacking style and trying to find the spaces to penetrate constantly."
Although Liverpool are unbeaten in their last nine games, Lijnders admits the players have felt a degree of pressure because so many of those have ended in draws.
But the former PSV and Porto coach insists he and his colleagues must take a phlegmatic approach to analysing why wins are not forthcoming and detach themselves from the emotions felt by fans.
"Of course there's pressure with everything that's happened of course the players feel that a draw is not a good result," he explained.
"And Anfield doesn't deserve that, Anfield deserves the victory, the last-minute goal, the standing up!
"But my role and I think the role of coaches is not to look at it through the eyes of the [fans].
"I try to look at it purely from a point of view of how can we develop.
"The staff know exactly what they are doing, they know exactly how they want to implement their ideas and everything starts with a common idea between players, staff and the manager.
"[They have] a clear game model of how they want to build the game and how they want to do certain aspects of the game and there's loads of freedom for each player."