Pep Lijnders has defended Liverpool’s decision to maintain a relatively small squad in comparison to some of their rivals as the Reds look to manage injuries and a covid outbreak. With Liverpool’s League Cup quarter-final clash with the Foxes coming at the start of a busy festive period, the Reds are again expected to rotate against Brendan Rodgers’ side.
Pep Lijnders said: “Without a small squad we would not have Trent Alexander-Arnold. We wouldn’t have Curtis Jones, we wouldn’t have Nat Phillips, we wouldn’t have Neco Williams. We wouldn’t have all these young boys who made this step with us. In this case, another example is Tyler Morton if we had more adult professional players. I believe with the right processes in place, with the strong academy we have, we can also win with them. These players will not let you down, we saw that. I think it’s a clear strategic decision we made a few years ago and I think it can be a win/win situation. We can expect more from professional players but I believe that a smaller squad will constantly give everybody the position to play football. I think that’s really important in a healthy squad, that everybody feels they can be called upon in each moment of time.”
While Liverpool might be facing Leicester with depleted numbers, Lijnders insisted it will not change how the Reds approach the League Cup as the Dutchman reiterated Klopp’s squad’s hunger to win trophies. And while the majority might be Premier League, European and world champions with the club, he declared they’re not ‘proper Liverpool legends’ yet.
Pep Lijnders said: “You have to watch one of our training sessions, that will take the greed (for trophies) question away because they train every time like it’s a final. They can make even a simple rondo very competitive. We have a squad full of personalities. We have a squad full of boys who still dream. Even James Milner, who is 35, still dreams of winning prizes. Of course there is an opportunity to reach the semi-final and we know this. If you want to be a proper Liverpool legend, you have to win national cups as well. We all know how big the FA Cup is and we want to win this cup as well. We don’t look further than the next game though!”
