Tuesday 24 January 2017 13:20, UK
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has lifted the lid on a team summit he held in the aftermath of a shock weekend defeat to Swansea.
The Reds' 3-2 loss ended a 12-month unbeaten run on home soil and stretched a stuttering start to 2017 that has seen Klopp's men win just one of six games in all competitions.
Liverpool face Southampton in the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final at Anfield on Wednesday - live on Sky Sports - before hosting Wolves in the FA Cup fourth round at the weekend, with a Premier League clash against leaders Chelsea seemingly crucial to their waning title aspirations.
Revealing the frank discussion ahead of a crunch week focused on boosting morale and restoring defensive focus, Klopp told the club's official website: "The goals we have conceded in 2017 have been a little bit of the same story.
"The influence of throw-ins is a little bit too big on the goals we concede. It's not that teams create a lot of chances against us. That's still a good sign. OK, Manchester United had a few, but I think that's the nature of the thing. But usually, they don't create a lot and still score.
"A few weeks ago, everybody spoke about the goalkeeper. That has absolutely no influence on the goals we're conceding at the moment. We can't say it's only the centre-half. Very often, the last mistake happens in this region, but that would be too easy.
"So we spoke about this and a few other things. It's about enjoying the role we have.
"We are Liverpool, and a really good football-playing side, and we don't enjoy the job we have to do. If you are another team at the bottom of the league, then we have to defend 80 to 90 per cent of the time, and 10 per cent you can invest in counter-attacks and sometimes a set-piece, and all that stuff.
"In our job, in 70 to 80 per cent of all games, we are dominant. So we have to enjoy this, even when we don't come through after five minutes. That's how it is. That's the job to do. They concentrate even then on defensive situations. It was a football meeting with a few other parts of the game."
Liverpool have been without joint-top scorer Sadio Mane since January 2, while influential midfielder Philippe Coutinho has only recently returned from a six-week lay-off with an ankle ligament injury and defender Joel Matip only just given clearance to play again following a row over his eligibility with the Cameroon Football Federation.
But Klopp dismissed talk of the Reds' reliance on individuals, saying at his earlier press conference: "Sometimes there's a single mistake, but most of the time it is seven or eight players who could have done something differently. That's how we understand it.
"It's not about one player. We really have to do better as a defensive unit. That was one of the things we discussed in our long meeting after the Swansea game, and I think we are all ready for the rest of the season now. The feeling around the club is not quite as positive as it was, and it's our job to bring that positivity back."
Watch Liverpool v Southampton on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7.30pm on Wednesday.
