Still many games left for Liverpool, Rhian Brewster tells TNP
Liverpool teenage sensation says Klopp and his teammates are taking it game by game
Ordinarily, a visit of Bournemouth would hold little or no fears for Liverpool.
This, however, is already proving to be anything but an ordinary season.
| LIVERPOOL | BOURNEMOUTH |
Manchester City's perfunctory win over Everton yesterday morning (Singapore time) turned up the heat further on Juergen Klopp's side in the see-saw battle for English Premier League supremacy.
Opportunities to reassert a previously comfortable margin over the reigning champions have been missed, with only goal difference and games in-hand reflecting the current state of play.
Seven points dropped in their first five games of 2019, compared to six from the previous 20, leave the Reds urgently needing to recapture the spark in their bid to end 29 years of hurt.
INJURIES
Injuries, rather than nerves, have taken their toll, with James Milner and Jordan Henderson both forced to deputise at right-back in Trent Alexander-Arnold's place over recent weeks.
Anything other than a win against the Cherries will stir up fears that a fourth challenge for English football's top honour in the modern era may again fall flat before the finish line.
But Rhian Brewster, who finds himself in a privileged position of observing Klopp's title hunters at close quarters, sees no signs of panic emitting around Anfield just yet.
"It's been an amazing season so far. We've just got to keep going and hopefully reach that end goal," he told The New Paper in an exclusive interview.
"In the few intervals that I've seen with the players and the boss, they're taking it game-by- game.
"We don't need to get ahead of ourselves because we know we've got a lot of games left and there's a long way to reach the end goal.
"We've just got to take it game-by-game and hopefully keep pushing."
Still only 18, Brewster is already no stranger to pursuing the game's top honours.
He took on a starring role in England's Under-17 World Cup triumph barely two years ago, winning both the tournament's Golden Boot and being ranked its third-best player overall.
The striker's current ringside view of Liverpool's title charge is borne out of misfortune, due to a serious ankle injury which has ruled him out of competitive action for the past 13 months.
Famously, Bill Shankly did not just keep players making up the Anfield casualty list at a safe distance but also afforded them the silent treatment until they were again at his disposal.
TURNED PRO
But Klopp's proactive role in Brewster's recovery is far removed from the club's modern godfather and extends beyond the courtesy of a residency at their Melwood training base.
The Liverpool manager's former club Borussia Dortmund and current Bundesliga title rivals Borussia Moenchengladbach were among those vying for the teenager's services, before he finally ended uncertainty over his future by agreeing professional terms last summer.
"Obviously, I haven't been in training and stuff but being in and around him and the first team is just amazing," Brewster admitted.
"He keeps my head high, he always speaks highly of me and I can't thank him enough through the time I've been injured, because he could have easily left me at the academy and waited until I got back fit.
"But he wanted me to come in the first team. I'm in with the first team every day, I'm doing what I love so I can't thank him enough to be honest."
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