Brendan Rodgers believes a change in formation has helped to unlock the potential in his Liverpool FC side.
The Reds go into Saturday’s FA Cup fourth round tie with Bolton at Anfield looking to extend their nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
Rodgers has retained the 3-4-2-1 system he trialled in last month’s defeat to Manchester United and he has been rewarded with Liverpool advancing in both domestic Cups and stepping up their charge for a Champions League spot.
A season which looked to be in freefall has been revived with the Reds looking much tighter defensively and more potent as an attacking force. New signings such as Emre Can, Lazar Markovic and Alberto Moreno have been key to that progress.
Liverpool’s dominant display against Chelsea in the Capital One Cup semi-final first leg this week was reminiscent of the exciting brand of football served up during last term’s title challenge.
“You see the level of our game now,” Rodgers said.
“I felt that somewhere it would come, it was just a case of finding solutions to allow us to do that.
“The restructuring of the system has allowed the players to come in and work this way. It’s given them comfort defensively and made us a real creative threat with the ball.
“Now we’re seeing the quality of the new players and how they have settled.
“The game the other night was a great measure of that. Where we were when we played Chelsea a couple of months ago was nowhere near that level. We lost 2-1 at Anfield but it wasn’t of the same level of performance or mentality.
“As the season has gone on we’ve seen the mentality of the players grow. They understand what it takes to play here and their qualities are starting to come through.
“That was the reason why we brought these players in last summer – knowing they could come in and flourish.”
Rodgers believes the imminent return of Daniel Sturridge will help ensure Liverpool go from strength to strength in the second half of the season.
The Reds striker won’t feature against Bolton but he’s close to making his long-awaited comeback from injury.
“We’ve got Daniel to come back in who is a big player for us,” he added.
“You put him back into that team then you have got a real exciting team ready to win again.
“We’ve shown that over this period of 14/15 games and if that continues then we’ll have a real good foundation come the summer. With one or two (new signings) to come in to add to what we’ve got then we can challenge for sure.”
Rodgers will ring the changes for the visit of Bolton as he rests key players ahead of Tuesday’s Capital One Cup semi-final second leg against Chelsea.
Martin Skrtel, Markovic, Moreno, Lucas Leiva and Steven Gerrard are expected to be given the afternoon off.
Glen Johnson and Joe Allen are set to return from injury with Adam Lallana, Javier Manquillo and Jose Enrique also in line to start.
The clash with the Championship club provides a chance for some of those on the fringes to stake a claim for more regular action.
Lucas has forced his way back into the side with his performances in recent months and Rodgers says others must follow the Brazilian midfielder’s lead.
“I’ve shown in my time here that I’m the type of coach who will view you in training,” Rodgers said.
“With the level of your training, commitment and focus you can play your way into the team and Lucas is a prime example of that.
“He was out of the team last season mainly because of the nature of our set-up.
“We had Steven Gerrard in that co-ordinating role from behind and I’m not one who likes to play with two holding players as they can get in the way of each other.
“We played a midfield diamond with one and we played 4-3-3 with one and that was Steven. He became the playmaker for the team.
“Now we’ve flipped it and we play with two in there with one of them being defensive, Lucas has done that role very well.
“It’s about players understanding that at times they will be out of the team. They have to respect the manager’s decision and the ethos of the team.”
The Reds go into Saturday’s FA Cup fourth round tie with Bolton at Anfield looking to extend their nine-game unbeaten run in all competitions.
Rodgers has retained the 3-4-2-1 system he trialled in last month’s defeat to Manchester United and he has been rewarded with Liverpool advancing in both domestic Cups and stepping up their charge for a Champions League spot.
A season which looked to be in freefall has been revived with the Reds looking much tighter defensively and more potent as an attacking force. New signings such as Emre Can, Lazar Markovic and Alberto Moreno have been key to that progress.
Liverpool’s dominant display against Chelsea in the Capital One Cup semi-final first leg this week was reminiscent of the exciting brand of football served up during last term’s title challenge.
“You see the level of our game now,” Rodgers said.
“I felt that somewhere it would come, it was just a case of finding solutions to allow us to do that.
“The restructuring of the system has allowed the players to come in and work this way. It’s given them comfort defensively and made us a real creative threat with the ball.
“Now we’re seeing the quality of the new players and how they have settled.
“The game the other night was a great measure of that. Where we were when we played Chelsea a couple of months ago was nowhere near that level. We lost 2-1 at Anfield but it wasn’t of the same level of performance or mentality.
“As the season has gone on we’ve seen the mentality of the players grow. They understand what it takes to play here and their qualities are starting to come through.
“That was the reason why we brought these players in last summer – knowing they could come in and flourish.”
Rodgers believes the imminent return of Daniel Sturridge will help ensure Liverpool go from strength to strength in the second half of the season.
The Reds striker won’t feature against Bolton but he’s close to making his long-awaited comeback from injury.
“We’ve got Daniel to come back in who is a big player for us,” he added.
“You put him back into that team then you have got a real exciting team ready to win again.
“We’ve shown that over this period of 14/15 games and if that continues then we’ll have a real good foundation come the summer. With one or two (new signings) to come in to add to what we’ve got then we can challenge for sure.”
Rodgers will ring the changes for the visit of Bolton as he rests key players ahead of Tuesday’s Capital One Cup semi-final second leg against Chelsea.
Martin Skrtel, Markovic, Moreno, Lucas Leiva and Steven Gerrard are expected to be given the afternoon off.
Glen Johnson and Joe Allen are set to return from injury with Adam Lallana, Javier Manquillo and Jose Enrique also in line to start.
The clash with the Championship club provides a chance for some of those on the fringes to stake a claim for more regular action.
Lucas has forced his way back into the side with his performances in recent months and Rodgers says others must follow the Brazilian midfielder’s lead.
“I’ve shown in my time here that I’m the type of coach who will view you in training,” Rodgers said.
“With the level of your training, commitment and focus you can play your way into the team and Lucas is a prime example of that.
“He was out of the team last season mainly because of the nature of our set-up.
“We had Steven Gerrard in that co-ordinating role from behind and I’m not one who likes to play with two holding players as they can get in the way of each other.
“We played a midfield diamond with one and we played 4-3-3 with one and that was Steven. He became the playmaker for the team.
“Now we’ve flipped it and we play with two in there with one of them being defensive, Lucas has done that role very well.
“It’s about players understanding that at times they will be out of the team. They have to respect the manager’s decision and the ethos of the team.”
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