The Brighton game probably pleased me more than the other two as even though Liverpool played far better in opening two matches the ability not to be playing well and still get a win is something that as Liverpool fans we have not seen an awful lot of, it seems like time and time again we have seen teams like Manchester United and Chelsea winning by playing “ugly”, even though they had performed very poorly they still found a way to get all three points.We have always used the term “lucky win” to describe it when a rival would be able to win in this way but the reality is we were probably jealous as past Liverpool teams have had to play well in order to win their matches. Saturday showed a change in that pattern as to be honest Liverpool played very poorly and in the end were probably lucky to get all three points, however the fact that we did get the win demonstrates a change of mentality.
Alex Ferguson uses to talk about having a winning mentality all the time when he was at Manchester United, and by that he didn’t just mean fighting for a win, but more to do with the fact that United were able to grind out a win even when they had a very poor game. Momentum is key if you are going to challenge for the league title and you have to keep a winning run going for as long as possible, I mean that is basically how Leicester City won the league in 2015/16, they got into a winning habit and couldn’t lose.Winning can become a habit and like with every habit, good or bad, it can hard to brake, Liverpool are putting a winning run together and like with every run there will be times where you are not going to be playing well but by not braking the habit and maintaining momentum you build confidence which changes the mentality going into a game, you “are going to win that game” rather than hoping and this is the mentality that wins you league titles.The art of grinding out a victory is something that every top team has to do, and if you’re fighting for a title they’re always going to be a few games like this in a season but the most important thing is that you’re able to get the three points and move on. I don’t imagine that the game on Saturday will take up too many highlights in Liverpool’s end of season DVD but it could be a crucial victory if we going to mount the serious challenge for the Premier League.Article by Imraan Adam @imadam786
