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Brendan Rodgers has lifted the lid on why his Liverpool side always blossom in spring.

Where some clubs wilt towards the business end of the season, the Reds have made a habit of kicking on during Rodgers’ Anfield tenure.

Liverpool reached the halfway stage in 2012/13 with just 25 points but improved and ended up in seventh on 61 points.

It was a similar story during last term’s thrilling Premier League title challenge. The Reds accumulated 36 points before the turn of the year and then embarked on a remarkable run which saw them finish as runners-up to Manchester City on 84 points.

This season Liverpool endured a torrid autumn. The exit of Luis Suarez, injury setbacks to Daniel Sturridge and a host of new arrivals struggling to find their feet contributed to the club’s worst start to a campaign for half a century.

They had just 28 points after 19 matches but once again they have broken off the shackles in style to propel themselves into the race for Champions League qualification ahead of Monday night’s trip to Swansea City.

Since losing at Old Trafford in December, Liverpool have taken 30 points out of a possible 36. They are the Premier League’s form side and are eyeing both a top-four finish and FA Cup glory.

Rodgers: It’s about mind - and body

Rodgers says there are both physical and psychological reasons why the Reds get stronger at a time when many of their rivals are feeling the strain.

“My staff and I have a periodised programme set out from day one right the way through the season,” Rodgers told the ECHO.

“At any level of work it’s about achieving that progress and improvement.

“The nature of the methodology here and how I develop players, it’s about the individual for me. The needs of the individual and that goes into the collective.

“What happens through our work is that players and individuals improve, When you improve as a collective then you get the gains from that.

“We have a great sports science team here and the boys always have a real high level of fitness. The conditioning of the players is excellent and that helps in the closing months of a season.”

How Rodgers gets Reds to handle the pressure...

Said the Liverpool boss: “The mental side of it is also very important. The measure of our game here is based around confidence.

“We go into the pressure situations towards the end of a season and our game is well suited to pressure.

“It’s about using various tools to allow us to find the cause. It’s important to find the cause that motivates players to work.

“For me the second part of the season is massive in terms of tapping into the psychology of players - re-inforcing the commitment to what we’re doing and why we’re here.

“Ultimately, we have an inherent belief in what we do. That combination makes us improve as each day goes on.”

The only frustration for Kopites is that Liverpool haven’t been able to start seasons under Rodgers the way they have finished them.

The Reds boss says there are mitigating circumstances for that with players taking time to adapt to significant changes, crowded fixture lists and the knock-on effect that has in terms of coaching time.

“If you look at year one, when I came in it was all about putting in place a system and helping individuals to become better,” Rodgers added.

“It was a new way of working and it was bound to take some time. It all came together in the second part of the season.

“At the end of my first year here there wasn’t a lot of change. A few additions came in to help the group but we already had the key principles in place.

“We all saw the benefits of that last season as with that improvement and development we nearly won the title. Last summer there were major changes again, so there another period of adjustment.

“We increased the depth of the squad but we lost players and I had to re-define the way of working which took a bit of time.

“But I always said that as this season went on we would get better and that’s proved to be the case. I’ve got great faith in this group and they are working well.

“I hope next season we’ll be in a cycle like my second year here, so we’re able to be in a position to challenge for trophies and compete for the title at the same time.”