Saturday 13 May 2017 08:06, UK
Liverpool are now entering the final stretch of a 100 metres sprint with the season on the line, according to central defender Dejan Lovren.
Jurgen Klopp's side travel to the London Stadium to take on West Ham United on Super Sunday with a top-four finish still within their own hands, despite last weekend's goalless draw with Southampton at Anfield.
Ahead of Sunday's visit to the East End of London, the Reds sit third in the Premier League with just two games left to play this campaign. And victories against the Hammers and then at home to Middlesbrough on the final day of the season will see the club qualify for the Champions League.
Lovren has likened the situation Liverpool now find themselves in to being in a semi-final of a tournament, with two wins guaranteeing them glory.
It is like the last 10 metres in the 100 metres.
"It will definitely be two tough games, especially against West Ham, so it is like a semi-final then a final the last two games," he told Soccer Saturday.
"It is like the last 10 metres in the 100 metres run, so you need to be focused and to give everything to finish really well. We need to just concentrate on ourselves."
Liverpool may already have sealed a top-four finish had it not been for an untimely run of injuries to key players like captain Jordan Henderson, top scorer Sadio Mane and midfield creators Adam Lallana and Philippe Coutinho.
However, while Lovren is not blaming those injuries for Liverpool's struggles in the league since the turn of the year, when the Reds were challenging Chelea for the title, he does admit the team have missed those players at various times in recent months.
"Unfortunately, in the last two months we have had a lot of injuries, especially 'Hendo' who has been a long time injured," Lovren said.
"But that is the season and sometimes you need to be lucky and finish really well with all these good players.
"But we have a good squad and even the players who are not in the squad are ready to play and step into the footsteps of Mane or Jordan. But they are definitely big misses for us and Adam also missed the last four of five games.
On a personal note, Lovren signed a new deal last month that now keeps the player at Anfield until 2021, with the Croat proclaiming himself "the happiest guy [in the world]" after finalising that contract extension.
The centre back, though, is the first to recognise it has not been all plain sailing since his arrival from Southampton for £20m in the summer of 2014, a fee that made him the most expensive defender in the club's history.
However, Lovren says he is desperate to leave a lasting impression on Liverpool's fans come the end of his stay on Merseyside.
"Like every player I've had my ups and downs, but I think I've improved and showed my quality," he said. "I want to be remembered like a man who left some good footsteps here.
"It is a big club with big ambitions and you maybe need a couple of months to adapt. But I had the luck to have a manager who believed in me and I am also thankful to the fans that they stood behind me, even in the bad times.
Looking ahead to this weekend's trip to the capital, Lovren is looking forward to being reacquainted with an old mentor in Slaven Bilic, the man who handed the defender his international debut for Croatia back in 2009.
"I know him well from the national team, he was my first coach with the national team, he always believed in me and we are still in contact, so it will be great to see him again," he said.
"It is always a tough game against West Ham, home or away it is always a big challenge for us. For us, it is like a semi-final and if you want to go to the final, you need to win the next game."
Come kick-off time against West Ham, though, and the 27-year-old will have forgotten all about his friendship with the opposition manager, with Lovren determined that it will be him rather his compatriot who is smiling at the full-time whistle.
"Now when we are on the pitch, we are not best friends, but that is football and after the game you shake his hand and that is it. Everyone wants to win, but sometimes it I not possible for both teams to win.
"So hopefully I will smile after the game…"
Listen to the full interview with Dejan Lovren on Soccer Saturday from midday on Saturday on Sky Sports News HQ and Sky Sports 1 HD
