Jürgen Klopp: It's in our gift to view pressure as a positive
Jürgen Klopp wants his Liverpool players to view the many tests that lie ahead as an opportunity to achieve something special rather than a burden.
The Reds will close 2019 out in possession of a lead at the top of the Premier League, in addition to their Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup titles.
But with more trophies on offer in the New Year, Klopp is confident the squad will continue to remain 100 per cent focussed on overcoming each hurdle as it comes.
The boss writes in his programme notes for today's encounter with Wolverhampton Wanderers: "This group of players know they set their own agenda and their own benchmarks.
"They know they have the capacity to decide if going into a game we allow ourselves to feel fatigue or we choose to be fresh in body and mind. It’s a choice we can make – we have the power to decide our own approach.
"I’m not stupid and we know what faces us in this particular period is a big, big test. But this is the Premier League and our ambition is to be the most successful team in it and that means rising to meet every challenge.
"Talking about a particular subject is completely different to using it as an excuse. And these players have a 'no excuse culture’ running through them.
"We will have setbacks, we will lose games, of course we will. This isn’t because of failings we may have but because the quality of opponent is so high.
"But we will never look to external factors to explain it, no matter how legitimate they may appear."
Klopp continued: "Our approach must always be about opportunity.
"To win the FIFA World Club Cup for the first time in our history was an opportunity and we took it.
"To come back to the fierce intensity of competition in the Premier League on the back of that – to this schedule – is an opportunity for us to perform if we choose to approach it as such, and we will.
"That is what I have seen from the players since we came back together in July and August. We set our agenda. We decide what is possible.
"It is in our gift to view the ‘pressure’ we are supposedly all under as a positive not a negative. Jordan Henderson spoke about this a lot last season and he was right. Replace the notion of pressure with opportunity. The right sort of pressure, which is linked to achieving something special, is a motivator and not a backpack to carry.
"Seeing pressure as opportunity can lift you up, rather than weigh you down. So this is where we are at as a team during this period. And it applies whether we win, lose or draw in certain games.
"This evening we face an unbelievably strong opponent and I really think it has the potential to be an amazing football match for those who love this special game of ours."
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