'A strong start would create the momentum we need'
Simon Mignolet knows from experience that a strong start to the Premier League season can create the momentum needed for a team to compete.
The goalkeeper was part of the Liverpool side that won each of their opening three matches 1-0 at the beginning of 2013-14 – a campaign which later ended with the Reds in second place.
An adapted fixture list means Jürgen Klopp’s charges will play three successive games away from home before the international break, beginning with a trip to Arsenal this afternoon.
And while the Belgian warns that judgements should not be made until a couple of months have passed, he is equally aware of the importance of a positive start.
Mignolet told Liverpoolfc.com: “I remember the year we challenged for the Premier League title until the last week of the season – we won the first three games 1-0 before the international break.
“We’ve got Arsenal, Burnley and Tottenham before the international break at the beginning of September, three tough fixtures away from home.
“But if we can start well, that momentum can keep you going. That’s how Leicester did it last year.
“You have to start well but let’s see how the start has gone after 10 or 15 games. Then we can look back to see what we could have done and what was good.
“The Premier League has got competition for every single spot; you can’t name the three teams that will finish top and you can’t name the teams that will end up at the bottom. It’s very tough to say.
“We just have to make sure we’re the ones doing the best we can.”
Liverpool certainly showed signs of their best when they dismantled Barcelona in an International Champions Cup clash at Wembley last Saturday.
The 4-0 scoreline caught the eye, but it was the performance that produced the result – the energy, pace and power of Klopp’s team – which perhaps most thrilled Reds fans.
Mignolet admits the challenge is now to maintain those kinds of levels across the season.
“It’s a big lift for confidence to go into the last week of preparation with a good win and a very good performance as well,” he said.
“If you can play [like that] at Wembley in front of 90,000 fans – the majority Liverpool supporters – that shows what we can do as a club and a unit.
“Let’s hope we can keep doing that throughout the whole season together, because then we are at our strongest, together with the support of our fans.
“The gaffer made that connection in the last few games of last season, for example in the game against Dortmund. That’s what we’ll need this year. All together, we can achieve great things this year.”