Results went for us on Sunday. A draw between Man City and Arsenal was perfect.
It’s in our hands now again. Nine games to go. We’ve got to manage our own games. Sheffield United next, just concentrate on that game and get the three points. It doesn’t matter what the score is, just get the three points.
And then we’ve got a massive game at Man United. I’ve said before, you’ve got to say to the players, ‘Remember how you felt at the end of the FA Cup game in this dressing room? Make sure you don’t feel like that when you come back in! Go out and do the business against a very, very average side.’
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I’ve watched them play, they’re so bad. They will play like they did at Anfield. They will defend and hit us on the break. They’re quite good at it, they’ve got the players to do that.
But we can’t leave ourselves open and go behind like we have been. We have to get the job done and make amends for that stupid FA Cup loss. If we play well and are clinical, they won’t be able to live with us.
But if we have an off-day like we did in the cup, things can happen. Then you move on and take every other game as it comes.
I can’t see City dropping many more points. Arsenal have some dodgy games but I can’t see them losing many points either.
Our home games should look after themselves, hopefully. But our away games, we’ve got some tricky ones that we have to manage.
We need our forwards to come to the table, they have to be clinical in these games. When they get chances, they have to take them.
Mo Salah’s coming back from his first injury in a while and you can tell. He had a couple of chances on Sunday that normally he’d smash in. But they were like back-passes to the keeper and that’s not like him really.
But he created a goal and he scored a goal. He’ll hold his hands up and say he didn’t have a great game, but that’s what good strikers do. They win you games, and that’s what we need them to keep doing.
I respect Alonso’s decision
I think you have to respect Xabi Alonso’s decision. Things can change by the way, don’t forget things can change overnight. I’m not saying he’s going to come to Liverpool.
But he’s a clever lad, he’s an astute lad. He’s still early in his managerial career, but looks like he has a great future and he wants to map it out in a certain way.
You have to respect that. It’s not to see that one day he won’t be at Liverpool, you don’t know.
But he’s doing an excellent job at Leverkusen and is enjoying it. It’s a learning curve for him.
Back to Basque in manager search
I wouldn’t have a clue where to look next after Xabi’s decision. Amorim and De Zerbi are both doing good jobs.
The Bournemouth manager, Iraola, is doing bloody well! There’s a number of managers from the Basque country, where I was playing, and it’s amazing how they’ve all come through the Spanish system.
I was talking to Fernando Torres about these managers from Northern Spain. It’s more like England, Ireland, Liverpool. Passionate, hard, feisty.
They’ve bedded in, the Bournemouth manager is one, Alonso is another, Arteta, Emery, and they’ve all come through from those ranks. That’s the type manager I think would suit Liverpool.
One where it’s in his heart and in his soul, like Klopp. These Basque managers have got that. They’re doing brilliantly.
I don’t know which one Liverpool are going to pick, it’s going to be a massive gamble so wait and see.
But whatever the Basque system is doing for coaching managers, it’s showing with all these top managers. They’re all there, they’re all doing terrifically. You can look it up and see for yourselves.
Olivia Martin is a dedicated sports journalist based in the UK. With a passion for various athletic disciplines, she covers everything from major league championships to local sports events, delivering up-to-the-minute updates and in-depth analysis.
