Liverpool winger Sadio Mané has acknowledged how difficult he has found recent weeks but insists he is keen to put his poor form behind him to help the club return to the top four.

The Senegal international has failed to get into a consistent set of form in his stop-start campaign due to injury and suspension, but has recently scored crucial goals against Burnley and Manchester City to earn the Reds crucial victories.

The former Southampton attacker signed for Liverpool for £34 million in the summer of 2016 and has since become a fans' favourite at the club.

The 25-year-old picked up both the Fans' and Player's Player of the Season awards at the club's end of season ceremony and there is no doubt that Mané is yet to reach the peaks he hit last term this season.

"There have been some difficult weeks for me. It is part of football," the Reds winger, who has scored nine goals so far this term despite his struggles, told Sky Sports.

Mané continued: "All I can do is do my best, score goals, give assists and do my best for my team. We still have many games to play. It is too early to speak about how many goals I will get this season."

After bouncing back from successive defeats to strugglers Swansea City and West Bromwich Albion, Liverpool secured a 3-0 away victory over Huddersfield Town on Tuesday night and host top-four rivals Tottenham Hotspur this Sunday.

The North London side claimed a deserved win against Manchester United at Wembley in mid-week to move within two points of the Merseyside club in the league table.

However, despite Spurs' quality Mané - who bagged a brace in this fixture last season - sees no reason to be daunted by the occasion, or any other for that matter.

"We can beat any team in the league, even in the world. It will be a tough game, but it is possible to win," continued the Liverpool No.19.

He suggested that it is "too early to talk about winning any titles" but that Liverpool are aiming to "win every single game until the end of the season."

Mané explained that the team spirit at the club is "great" and hailed: "We are all happy to be playing alongside each other. There have been some difficult years here, but that happens to every single club in the world. We are in a good way now, so everything is possible."

Mané glad to be reunited with Van Dijk

The January transfer window also saw Mané reunited with former Southampton team-mate Virgil van Dijk, who joined the Reds for an astonishing £75 million - the biggest fee ever for a defender.

The Dutchman has made three appearances to date as he adjusts to the demands under new manager Jürgen Klopp, and Mané is delighted to be back in the same dressing room as the towering centre-back.

He hailed the former Celtic defender as "a great player" and said: "I know him very well from my time at Southampton. He is a very good addition for us and we are very happy to have him in the team."

Mané believes Van Dijk "is doing well" and, on his qualities, insisted he is "strong and technically good" and that he "reads the game well" and "wants to win every single ball."​

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About the author
Joshua Kerr
Third-year Sports Journalism student at Staffordshire University, contributing to Vavel UK since April 2017.