Adam Lallana believes Liverpool have found system to turn things around
There are times when game plans, philosophies and long-term aspirations take a back seat and, as Adam Lallana puts it, "you just have to show a bit of bottle". That time is now for Liverpool and, for all the justified criticism of Brendan Rodgers' team, bottle has helped alleviate the growing sense of crisis at Anfield. A trip to Burnley demands more.
It would be premature in the extreme to suggest Liverpool, top of the Premier League last Christmas and 10th one year on, are a convincing unit once again, despite their manager's talk of a top-four challenge after the 2-2 draw with Arsenal on Sunday. Equally it would be churlish to ignore the character of a side that began a defining period with a Champions League exit and a 3-0 defeat at Manchester United, then moved into the Capital One Cup semi-final and dominated Arsène Wenger's possession-based team at Anfield. Liverpool's character has been questioned this season, often rightly so, and a riposte has belatedly arrived.
"We're causing teams problems again and we can gain belief from that," said Lallana. "The lads were lacking a bit of confidence, not just myself, a few of us. That comes with disappointing results but you have these points in your career when you've got to show a bit of bottle, where you've got to go looking for the ball. We've done that. It's maybe easy to hide when you're not playing well and results aren't going well but that's when you have to work through it because eventually it will click. We all have bad days at work and it's about how you bounce back and how hard you work."
Christmas provides opportunity for Liverpool to give substance to Rodgers' top-four hopes with home games against Swansea City and bottom-of-the-table Leicester City following the visit to third-from-bottom Burnley. The team has made tentative but important steps forward since Rodgers reverted to a 3-4-2-1 formation that has enabled Lallana and Philippe Coutinho to exert a greater influence. The system is not all that has changed, however, with the Liverpool manager adopting more of a siege mentality in a bristling response to his critics.
"I think the manager has been fantastic with the whole group but I'm sure he's found it difficult as well," admits the England international. "You can't always ignore what people write and what people say. Eventually it gets out there. But it's about sticking together. That's what he's mentioned – that we all stick together no matter how many different people have their opinions and want us not to do well just because we're not fighting for the league title like last year. There are reasons for that. People might not like the reasons
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