Jurgen Klopp insisted Xherdan Shaqiri's ‘time will come' as the attacker eagerly awaits his first Liverpool start.
Despite showing signs of promise in pre-season, notably on his debut against Manchester United when he scored a spectacular overhead kick, Shaqiri has found a place in the starting eleven hard to come by.
The 26-year-old, who signed from relegated Stoke City in the summer, has been limited to just three cameo appearances so far and is pushing for his first start of the season.
Ahead of Southampton's visit of Anfield on Saturday, Klopp assured that despite making 'different decisions', Shaqiri is sure to receive ample game-time.
“He is very positive, not only from the performances but as a guy in the dressing room,” Klopp said.
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“Everyone loves Shaq, that is how it is - and without playing plenty of minutes.
“That is more my mistake than his. He has done everything to play. I made different decisions but his time will come, that is for sure.”
Liverpool will be looking to win their seventh consecutive game of the season against the Saints on Saturday, before facing Chelsea in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday and meeting the London club once again at Stamford Bridge next weekend.
And Klopp was keen to highlight the attributes that have been important in the Reds' winning run so far as he looks to his squad to gather momentum during a busy spell of games.
“We don't feel that [momentum] to be honest because we play, analyse, prepare; play, analyse, prepare and that is it,” the manager stated.
“Maybe it's because all the jobs are so difficult. There is no game where we have thought: ‘Thank God we have played them.' None of the results we have this season would have been possible without the greed you have seen or without the aggression you see. No chance.
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“We didn't win anything so far - not in the past and not this season - so let's use the momentum and create a new momentum. We really want to be the ugliest team to play against. That is the plan, and to do it with good football players.
“The best news I have had in the last two weeks is how we have changed or reinvented again our defensive skills. We didn't need them too much in the first few games. It was not that we didn't have to defend but they were different games.
“Against Tottenham and Paris I loved how we did it. We still played good football and that was a really big step in the season so far.”
