Liverpool face off against Spurs in the Champions League next weekend in what may very well turn out to be the night the Reds win their sixth title.
There’s been two instances this season in which we were not likely to prevail, and that was our crucial matches against Napoli and PSG which just about got us out of our group and our 3-0 thrashing at the Camp Nou in the semi-finals.
It’s incredible that Jurgen Klopp’s men are even in the final – just as unlikely as it is that we’re meeting Spurs, of all teams, at the summit. With respect, I didn’t even consider them at the beginning of the season.
Fair play.
For our assistant manager, Pep Lijnders, our success is down to the club believing in their philosophy and sticking to it. “The very best of this club is shown in humbleness, in everyday desire to improve, not as much results, in my opinion,” he told Liverpoolfc.com.
“It’s really shown in the passion of the people who work for it, and in the passion of the fans, and then, yes, it works like a trampoline… and sometimes like a volcano! In all seriousness, I really believe our results are a logical [result] of development and right character.
“Character counts; the force of Jurgen’s passion is cumulative because the way he speaks to our players becomes their inner voice, that creates belief. Everyone who was in top sport knows that your brain, your own voice, can be difficult sometimes.
“What we saw that night is a hard-working, pressing team, who fought for each centimetre together. We will not accept getting beat in team spirit.”
Spurs aren’t going to be push-overs; they turned it around against Ajax in dramatic fashion and they’ll be keen to cap off their positive season with a trophy.
It’s ironic that the two clubs that are often joked about for not winning a lot of trophies are facing each-other in the final of the biggest piece of silverware in European football.
Hopefully the lads approach the game as if we’re already a goal or two down and fight, teeth and nail, to get the ball in the back of the net – we simply cannot have a repeat of last year.