'We're all made up to see how Joe Gomez has stepped up'
Jordan Henderson feels the recent contribution of Joe Gomez serves as a fine example of the perseverance that runs deep through the Liverpool dressing room.
The centre-half has put in eye-catching displays to help produce six clean sheets in his last seven appearances for the Reds in all competitions.
And Henderson believes Gomez's first-class attitude has put him in a position to thrive when opportunities have arrived, having found his game-time somewhat limited at the start of the campaign.
In his column in the official matchday programme for tonight's fixture with Sheffield United, the captain writes: "Inside the dressing room we have a lot of good leaders, a lot of big characters, who every day are pushing each other on to make sure the level doesn't drop in training, that we're pushing ourselves to improve even further. We look to do that in every single training session, to make sure it's at 100 per cent.
"It wasn't that long ago there was a lot of focus on our lack of clean sheets. I can tell you now that mattered to all of us, not just the defenders. Our expectation of ourselves was to do better in that area and we have seen an improvement. But we don't feel content about it - we want more.
"Set a standard, meet it, then look to exceed it. Never stop focusing on what we can do better. That's our mantra.
"An individual who has embodied that recently for us has been Joe Gomez. The start to his season wasn't straightforward. He had setbacks to contend with and challenges to face.
"We all know what a massive talent Joe is, but at this level it's also about perseverance. It's meant the world to all of us to see how he's stepped up yet again and is playing with such confidence and control.
"Joe isn't someone who is bothered about individual praise and he'll be the first to say that, in terms of contribution to the team, he has even more to give.
"But I think his situation is a great example to any player that hard work and only hard work is the path to achieving something special - be it as a person or a team.
"Regardless of all the external talk around us at this moment, I can promise Liverpool supporters that we won't change our approach at any point during this campaign.
"Until the very last kick of the very last game our only objective is to be better in the next match than we were in the one before it.
"It's been an attitude that's served us well until now and there is no chance we're going to change it."
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