Danny Murphy insists Liverpool’s problem this season is mental and NOT a lack of quality in their squad.
The ex-Red admits the Premier League title is already ‘gone’ after just eight games but backed them for a top-four spot, amid claims the players are still suffering from football hangovers. last season and two excruciating misses for big silverware.
It’s hard to see that this currently struggling Liverpool side is virtually the same – minus Sadio Mane – who were two results away from an unprecedented four-fold last season.
Murphy admits losing the Premier League and Champions League titles last season is a blow that the Liverpool side are still feeling the aftermath of.
And he insisted that their current struggles and striking drop in form is a problem with their mentality, and that can be salvaged.
“The title is gone, that’s how bad their start was, but I don’t think you go from a four-time winner to a bad team overnight,” he told Drivetime.
“It’s not a quality issue, it’s just the mindset.
“When you start a season badly and you’re not quite there, whether it’s complacency, whether it’s a hangover from missing the Premier League and the Champions League final the last year, whatever it is, it’s very hard to change the momentum of playing badly and losing a few games and losing a lot of goals.
“The magnifying glass of being at a club like Liverpool is huge, it comes from all over, everyone is focused on your performance, be it Trent Alexander-Arnold, Mohamed Salah or Vigil van Dijk and the pressure is mounting.
“They have set ridiculously high standards, I have no doubt they will bounce back and have a good run, I have no doubt because of the quality they have.
“Will it be enough to get a place in the Champions League? I still think so, but they’re going to have to start soon, because right now they’re too easy to face.
While a 1-0 loss to Real Madrid in the Champions League final appears to have taken its toll, talkSPORT’s Ally McCoist believes missing out on the Premier League title on the final day of the campaign was a bigger psychological blow for the team.
“I just wonder if this 81st minute winner for Ilkay Gundogan [against Aston Villa] finally broke the soul of this particular Liverpool team,” the Rangers legend told the talkSPORT breakfast.
“They will react, of course they will have a reaction, but you look at some of the results, like losing 4-1 to Napoli, it’s such a different performance to Liverpool’s.”
City were 2-0 against Aston Villa with just 22 minutes to play, with the title seemingly heading for Anfield, when Gundogan came off the bench and made an instant impact – pulling back a goal before Rodri leveled the game, and Gundogan then scoring the winner in a six-minute comeback to hand the title to Pep Guardiola instead.
Or is Klopp’s brand of high-intensity ‘heavy metal football’ taking its toll?
Another ex-Red, Didi Hamann, has suggested to talkSPORT that the popular German coach’s work could be in doubt if results don’t improve quickly, with players who previously looked unbeatable making fundamental mistakes.
But, despite how much he is looking for the Anfield giants at the moment, Stuart Pearce insists Klopp’s job should be safe after all he has achieved in charge.
“I just think the bond between him and the fans is so close,” said the former England and West Ham manager.
“That’s what I see, and I would be really surprised if the Liverpool fans turn on him in some way.
“I think they should stay with Jurgen Klopp because I think he’s a very good manager and has been brilliant for the club.”