Liverpool vs Spurs | Ange on focus, resilience, Klopp and Anfield

Ange Postecoglou is ready for another test on the road - arguably the toughest - as we face Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday (4.30pm UK).

Despite a recent run of one win in five, Liverpool remain in the Premier League title race and top of the home form stats for this season with 13 wins and three draws in the 17 fixtures so far at Anfield, their only defeat last month against Palace.

We’ve had a testing spell ourselves with back-to-back derby defeats against Arsenal and Chelsea following the 4-0 loss at Newcastle.

Ange spoke about a lack of belief and conviction in our play after Thursday night’s loss at Stamford Bridge and, speaking the morning after on Friday, we asked him how the squad go about changing that...

“You continually focus on what’s important,” he said. “If you fall into the trap - and many people do - of thinking there’s a quick fix, there isn’t. It’s time, hard work and perseverance, resilience, focus, all those things.

“It’s part of the process. Nothing changes. We stay focussed on what we’re trying to achieve. It’s not a good place to be (after three straight defeats) and you’ve got to feel that pain, ultimately that’s what drives you. At the same time, we know where we’re at, we know what we need to do, we’ve still a long way to go, but we’re building a decent foundation for it.”

Asked what he expects at Anfield, he told us: “It’s a tough game, a big game. Obviously, they are still fighting for the title. It’s another great test for us. We’ve been to some pretty tough venues in recent weeks, and this is another good chance for us to measure where we’re at.

“To play at Anfield, they will still believe they are in the title race, rightly so, if the top two slip they will want to be there. It’s Jurgen’s last couple of games at Anfield and I’m sure they will want to put on a good show. It will be a great test for us.”

It’s Jurgen Klopp’s penultimate game at Anfield after announcing he would be parting ways at the end of this season back in January. He’s won the lot having joined the Reds in 2015 - coincidentally, his first match in charge was a goalless draw at the Lane - 17 October, 2015.

Asked about Klopp’s impact in his pre-match press conference, Ange said: “He's had a massive impact. I've said before that I've always been drawn to managers who are a little bit different, who play the game a bit differently and have a really clear vision and identity, and he certainly has that.

“It's not easy going into a big club that has traditionally had a lot of success and has then gone through a really tough spell in terms of that, and then come in and transform a club the way he did. It's a credit to him, he's an outstanding manager.”