Clyne: Reds' hunger and desire is starting to pay off
Nathaniel Clyne believes Liverpool are starting to reap the rewards of the 'hunger and desire' instilled in the players by Jürgen Klopp.
And the right-back wants to kick-start a glorious new era under the German by achieving the double aim of progressing in Europe and winning the Capital One Cup final this week.
The Reds face a crucial period that sees them take on FC Augsburg in the second leg of the Europa League last 32 at Anfield on Thursday before heading to Wembley to face Manchester City on Sunday.
This double-header comes at a time when Liverpool are starting to show what they can do under Klopp, according to Clyne, and he is out to prove as much by making it two wins from two.
“Everyone is buzzing about the cup final and, for me, it’s my first major cup final so all my friends and family are coming and it’s very exciting for the whole club," he told the Mirror.
“I think the biggest thing you notice with the manager is the hunger and desire to win the ball back.
“The midfielder, defenders and full backs like me have to work very hard. It has been tough but it’s also been paying off.
“It was something I was used to with the previous manager, I was used to pressing high up the field and it’s no problem. I’m fit and I’m young.
“I think you can see that it’s working and I’m sure we are going to shoot up the table.
“We’ve actually been playing well in games, not always getting results and hopefully if we can win a trophy that will give us confidence and mean we can go on and win a lot more.”
Klopp's men earned their most convincing win of the season thus far in their last Barclays Premier League outing, thrashing Aston Villa 6-0 at Villa Park in a game that saw six different players find the back of the net.
Clyne believes such performances have not been seen more regularly this term due to injuries, but expects the return of a number of first-team stars to mark the start of a productive run.
“We’ve had a lot of players out injured, I think the win at Aston Villa showed that we are capable and I’ve felt for a while that a result like that has been coming,” the England international added.
“A lot of players got on the scoresheet, we’ve got a lot of talent in the squad and when everyone is back I’m sure we’ve got a squad which can be successful.
“It’s definitely exciting times if we can put together a decent run of form because we’ve got the cup final, still got the Europa League and hopefully it can be the start of things to come.”