Jurgen Klopp stressed the need for Liverpool's attackers to step up in the absence of Mohammed Salah and Sadio Mane, ahead of their Premier League clash with Brentford at Anfield.
With Salah and Mane featuring at the Africa Cup of Nations, Klopp's side struggled to create clear-cut opportunities last time out, in a goalless draw with Arsenal in the first leg of their EFL Cup semi-final.
Following a six-game winning run in November and December, Liverpool are also winless in their last three Premier League games, throwing away a lead to draw two of those games.
Speaking ahead of Brentford's first trip to Anfield since March 1989, Klopp praised the contribution of Roberto Firmino, before calling for other players in his Reds squad to step up.
"He [Firmino] is a very smart player", Klopp said in a news conference. "His game is about using his team-mates in the way that he can use them.
"It's not just about being able to score goals in this way or that way.
"In one of our biggest games in recent history we played without Mo [a 7-0 win at Crystal Palace in December 2020, where Salah spent the first hour on the bench], and we won against Manchester United [a 5-0 victory earlier this season] without Mane.
"Now both are out, and that is not cool, but we don't think [of Firmino] 'you have to be like him or like him'".
Salah and Mane have scored 24 Premier League goals between them this season, on par with their combined expected goals (xG).
Firmino, meanwhile, has only netted four league goals this campaign, with an October hat-trick against Watford representing his only Premier League strikes since the opening day.
Klopp was also asked about the role of versatile youngster Curtis Jones, who made a lively cameo from the bench in Liverpool's frustrating draw with the Gunners, and stressed the need for Jones to show greater consistency.
"I had a long talk last week with Curtis," Klopp said. "I love the boy, I love the potential he has, but we have to make sure he makes those next steps, and fulfils that potential on the pitch.
"You have these kinds of conversations when you are not 100 per cent happy with a player in that moment. We have to find a way for him to show this [potential] much more often."
Jones provided just one goal and two assists in 24 league appearances last season, featuring regularly as Liverpool battled an injury crisis, and Klopp highlighted the need for the midfielder to contribute in the absence of the side's bigger names.
"It's an ongoing process between Curtis and me. We've had a tricky period, especially with Covid, which is not helpful, but now we'll try to make sure he can show how good he can be," Klopp added.
We’ve got to believe we can pull off a miracle – Inverness captain Sean Welsh
Captain Sean Welsh has told his Inverness team-mates they have to believe they can pull off “a miracle” in what will be the biggest game of his career this Saturday.
The cinch Championship side are big underdogs for their Scottish Cup final showdown with Celtic, who are bidding to complete a domestic treble.
Welsh knows it will take a huge effort to pull off an upset at Hampden but the 33-year-old is adamant his team have a chance.
“It ranks at the very top for me,” said the former Partick Thistle and Falkirk midfielder when asked about the size of the game in the context of his career.
“It’s not very often you get to play on an occasion like this, especially at my age getting to the latter stages of my career. I am thoroughly looking forward to it.
“We’ve got to believe, I’ve said that to the lads all week. We’ve got to believe we can pull off a miracle.
“We don’t just want to go there for a day out and get caught up in the occasion.
“We know it’s a massive challenge in front of us, but we’ve got to have belief in ourselves.
“We know we have a good group and we know we are going to be up against it at times in the game but we’ve got to stick together and have that belief that we can do it.”
Celtic won only two of their closing six Premiership matches as they had the title wrapped up with time to spare, but Welsh dismissed any notion that his team can draw encouragement from the champions’ recent form dip.
“I don’t think you can look too much into that,” he added.
“They wrapped up the title early doors and then had a few results they probably weren’t happy with but you saw at the weekend (when they beat Aberdeen 5-0) they can turn it on when they need to. I’m sure they’ll be right up for this.
“It’s not going to make much difference to us, we know how hard the challenge is going to be.”
Inverness will have gone more than four weeks without a competitive game by the time they run out at Hampden on Saturday.
Although Welsh admits it is “not ideal” in terms of maintaining match sharpness, he feels the month-long break has at least allowed them to banish any lingering disappointment after they lost to Ayr in their final Championship fixture and missed out on the play-offs.
“It was good to get some time to get over what happened in the last game of the season,” he said.
“That was a difficult night and we were all very disappointed to miss out on the play-offs so the time away was good for us to clear our minds and get over it.
“We didn’t want that lingering going into this massive game.
“We’ve come back in refreshed and excited and we’re looking forward to it.”
Caolan Boyd-Munce agrees new one-year contract with St Mirren
Caolan Boyd-Munce has agreed a one-year contract extension with St Mirren, who have confirmed star striker Curtis Main, Charles Dunne, Joe Shaughnessy and Richard Tait will all move on.
The 23-year-old midfielder joined Saints in March on a deal until the end of the season and the club has taken up the option to extend that until the summer of 2024 with an appearance-based option for another year.
The Northern Irishman – who began his career at Glentoran and had spells at Birmingham and Middlesbrough – made three appearances for the Buddies last season with his first start coming in Saturday’s match against Rangers at The SMiSA Stadium.
Manager Stephen Robinson told stmirren.com: “Caolan was never going to come into the first team fold straight away because he hadn’t played for a long time.
“What we could see three months ago, he is now starting to achieve. Sometimes, that gamble is worthwhile.
“He’s different from what we have. He will find passes and put people through on goal as he gets fitter and stronger.
“We believe that come August/September, he has a real chance of starting games for us and pushing on. There’s so much more to come from him.”
“The option for a different type of midfielder who is similar to an Ethan Erhahon (who left for Lincoln in January) makes us stronger as a squad.”
Robinson, who has 20 players under contract for next season, did not expect 31-year-old striker Main, a key player since joining from Shrewsbury two years ago, to extend his time in Paisley.
The former Morecambe and Motherwell manager will also have to bolster his defence this summer.
Club captain, Shaughnessy, 30, joined the Buddies from Southend in 2020 and was out of the team earlier in the season.
Fellow centre-back Dunne, 30, arrived from Motherwell two years ago while full-back Tait, 33, also signed from the Steelmen in 2020.
In a general squad update, the Buddies website said: “Offers were made to Charles Dunne, Curtis Main and captain Joe Shaughnessy, but all three have decided that their futures lie elsewhere.
“With over 250 combined appearances between them, we thank them immensely for their respective contributions to St Mirren and wish them the very best in their new challenges.
“Richard Tait also departs after almost three years at the club where he made 87 appearances and scored three goals. We sincerely thank Richard for his contributions and wish him the very best in whatever comes next.
“Tony Watt and Thierry Small have returned to their parent clubs, Dundee United and Southampton, respectively. We thank them for their time at St Mirren and wish them all the best for their future.
“An offer to Youth Academy graduate Jay Henderson remains on the table.”
Diogo Dalot happy to continue ‘special journey’ after signing new Man Utd deal
Diogo Dalot says everyone at Manchester United feels like they are “at the start of a special journey” after signing a new deal until at least 2028.
The 24-year-old right-back joined from Porto in 2018 and has gone on to make 107 appearances in all competitions for the club.
Dalot, who spent the 2020-21 season on loan at AC Milan, has now signed new terms at Old Trafford for the next five years, with the option of a further season.
“Playing for Manchester United is one of the highest honours that you can have in football,” the 11-cap Portugal international said.
“We have shared some fantastic moments over the past five years and I’ve grown so much and my passion for this incredible club has only increased since the day that I joined.
“As a group of players, we all feel like we are at the start of a special journey right now.
“I can assure you that I will dedicate myself relentlessly to helping this group to achieve our aims and make the fans proud of this team.
“That drive continues this week with everyone intensely focused on preparations for the FA Cup final.”
Dalot began the season superbly under Erik ten Hag, but much-improved Aaron Wan-Bissaka may get the nod to start Saturday’s FA Cup final at right-back.
View this post on InstagramIrrespective of his role against Manchester City this weekend, United football director John Murtough is delighted by the strides the full-back has made.
“Diogo is an excellent defender, with a great combination of pace, strength and versatility,” he said. “He has consistently developed, improving year-on-year since joining the club in 2018.
“Diogo’s work ethic and professionalism is superb; the way in which he prepares himself every day in order to perform at his highest level is exactly what we all want from a Manchester United player.
“Diogo has a strong mentality, high standards and a great personality, and we are delighted that he will remain an important member of the squad for the coming years.”
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