"There are games every three days so you just can't churn out the same team every week"
Thursday 19 December 2019 23:08, UK
Adam Lallana insists Liverpool must make full use of their entire squad if they are to be successful and win trophies this season.
Lallana, who has been limited to 11 appearances this term, was deployed in the midfield holding role against Monterrey on Wednesday as captain Jordan Henderson was forced to drop into centre-back because of Virgil van Dijk's illness.
It is a role Klopp identified for Lallana in pre-season - and although opportunities have been limited up to this point - injuries to Fabinho, who is out until the new year with an ankle injury, and, in the shorter term, Georginio Wijnaldum, means the 31-year-old may get the chance to feature more in the coming weeks.
"I've been fit all year, I've contributed at times," Lallana said ahead of the Club World Cup final against Flamengo on Saturday.
"We are going to need every member of this squad if we are going to be successful this year and being successful is winning this competition, going for the league, being successful in the Champions League.
"There are games every three days so you just can't churn out the same team every week. At times it may be frustrating when you're maybe not getting the game time you want because that is your reward for training hard.
"There is game time there. Me and the manager had a conversation before the Manchester United game [in October] so I'm in a great place, I'm enjoying my football and getting rewarded with games like on Wednesday.
"[He said] 'Be patient, keep training the way you're training', and I think that was before the United game and obviously I came on during that game and had an impact straight away."
Liverpool's victory in the Champions League final in June was followed by European Super Cup success and a run of 16 wins in 17 matches to give Jurgen Klopp's side a 10-point lead at the top of the Premier League.
They racked up another win, again thanks to a late goal, in their Club World Cup semi-final against Monterrey in Doha to set up a meeting with Flamengo as the Reds try to win the one trophy which has so far eluded them on three previous occasions.
"We are European champions and [we want] to be World Club champions," Lallana added. "There's not many people who can say that. We are going to give it our all.
"I'm sure Bobby and Alisson (Brazilians Roberto Firmino and Alisson Becker) will give us some inside info on them [Flamengo].
"We watched them the other day: they were very dynamic, very aggressive, physical, we will have to recover quickly.
"We are just going to concentrate on ourselves. That's all we ever do. We respect the opposition, we will analyse them.
"It's all about recovery now and [come out] all guns blazing for Saturday. Another trophy is up for grabs at the weekend so bring it on. We are here in a final so let's go for it."
