Dejan Lovren opens up on miserable afternoon vs Spurs at Wembley

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  • Dejan Lovren pleased with the way he has responded to Tottenham performance
  • Liverpool defender was substituted after 30 mins 
  • Croatian recieved standing ovation in Wednesday’s Champions League win
  • SEE MORE: Klopp: why ‘Fab Four’ nickname is disrespectful

Dejan Lovren is a man who knows all about overcoming tough spells in the life of a Liverpool defender.

The scrutiny over the Reds’ defensive stability in recent years has somewhat burdened the Croatian and his teammates with an ever-present spotlight. Success demands recognition, whilst failure is granted no place to hide.

A standing ovation for Lovren in Wednesday night’s 7-0 Champions League win over Spartak Moscow fuelled emotions polar-opposite to the misery he experienced a matter of weeks ago.

October saw the centre-back endure arguably his worst afternoon in a Liverpool shirt, as he was substituted after 30 minutes in the 4-1 defeat to Tottenham having partially been at fault for the hosts’ opening two goals.

The backlash was ugly, both towards Lovren and yet again towards the club for failing to adequately strengthen the team’s defence during the summer transfer window.

Lovren insists days like his at Wembley have to be prepared for and suitably dealt with- something he believes he has done well.

“That’s part of football and you need to be ready to receive that punch sometimes and you need to be ready also to give the punch away – it’s both ways,” he told Liverpoolfc.com.

“I’ve been through this many times in my life, not just football but also outside football, and it’s something you need to cope with and if not then you are definitely not ready to play for a big club like Liverpool.”

“More often, you will not get through this with a positive outcome unless you’re ready to forget it as soon as possible and move forward. You need to have the right people around you, like your teammates who support you, and definitely the manager in these quite difficult moments.”

“But in the end, it depends on you. I think I did it quite well and the team did quite well altogether when we were in difficult moments.”

With Joel Matip out injured, there is an added responsibility on Lovren’s shoulders to step up as Klopp’s experienced first-choice central defender.

Liverpool’s ongoing interest in Southampton’s Virgil van Dijk should also motivate Lovren to find his form in aid of fending off any potential competition.

Regardless of his admirable response in recent weeks, the pressure is still on for him to find some consistency and prove himself as a reliable figurehead again.

That mission continues in Sunday’s Merseyside derby.

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