Joel Matip ‘doesn’t care’ about criticism and believes Liverpool will benefit from mid-season World Cup break as Reds look to close gap on Premier League leaders Arsenal

Joel Matip believes that the World Cup break came at the ideal time for Liverpool as they look to give their season a kick-start.

Jurgen Klopp's side went into the mid-season break in sixth position in the Premier League, seven points from the top four and 15 points behind first-place Arsenal.

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The Reds haven't had things all their own way in the opening months of the season, with injuries to players such as Matip, Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and others hampering their efforts to compete on all fronts.

However, according to the experienced defender, the break will ensure that they're ready to fight when the season resumes.

Speaking to Jim White on talkSPORT, Matip said: “It’s something special to have a big break during the season like this but for us, it maybe wasn’t too bad to have to get a few more players in the team, to reorganise and to get back to our strengths.

“For me especially, because I was injured, it gives me some extra time and some games. It will be tough for every team and we’ll see who gets the better restart but we’re looking forward to it and the team is looking good."

Asked about their poor start to the season, Matip said: “If somebody starts struggling then the voices on the outside always get louder but I have all the confidence in my teammates and the club that we are still a strong side and can beat everyone.

“I’m not in doubt about the quality of our team. People outside will speak but to be honest I don’t care too much about these types of things.

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“I trust my teammates and believe in them so I think we’re heading back where we belong.”

Pre-season expectations suggested that Liverpool would settle for nothing less than challenging for the Premier League title, however with 15 points between them and current leaders Arsenal, it means that they will need a minor miracle to make up that gap.

But while some will put pressure on the Reds to challenge, Matip believes that the only focus must be on picking up points and quickly.

He said: “So far we don’t have to speak about the title, we just have to improve and then we’ll see where we end up.

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“If you want to win the Premier League then the time period we have it’s not possible, but we just want to improve and get better and then we’ll see where we end up at the end.

“At Liverpool you always want to win everything. We’re still in every competition, even if the Premier League is really far away. There’s a lot of competitions and a lot of points to gain.

“We’re far away from saying that we don’t care about the Premier League and that other things are more important. We just want to get as many points as possible and beat everyone, so we’ll see.”