Reds now have head for heights

PREMIER LEAGUE:

The team are fourth, six points behind leaders Arsenal, and the Reds boss thinks this is due in part to the fact the psychology of the players has changed.

Rodgers talks about mental endurance, personality, confidence and belief and, after last weekend, has evidence to back up his claims.

Leading 2-0 at Stoke — where they had not won for almost 30 years in the league — Liverpool were pegged back to 2-2 at half-time before coming through to win 5-3.

That, reckons the manager, said more about their state of mind than it did about their talent.

“It was a wonderful demonstration of mental endurance,” he said. “I am sure people sat at home at half-time were thinking ’this is a true test’ but in the second half we demonstrated emphatically how our game is improving on the pitch — but equally important was the mental personality and fitness.

“I look at it as a game similar to the one at Tottenham [a 5-0 win], a game which sets up a standard for us.

“At Tottenham it was a wonderful footballing display. Stoke away, in the situation we were in, was a great benchmark of our mental fitness.

“What it gives you is that great belief. We go into any stadium without the fear to play, whatever the opponent.

“Psychology is a massive part, at the elite level of sport it is the edge, and that type of performance and result bodes well in the coming months because each game is very important.”

While the top three of Arsenal, Manchester City and Chelsea remain most people’s choice for title contenders, Rodgers insists his side now cannot be discounted.

“We’ve got all those teams to play at home, and we’re only six points off the leaders, so you have to feel that we are [in the title race], and we have the confidence and belief in ourselves,” he added ahead of the visit of Aston Villa today.

“We have to maintain our focus and concentration. Thankfully, I have a group of players that are brilliantly focused and are determined to maintain our standards, take it into every game and ensure we get the points.”