Diogo Jota’s death is having a clear impact on his mourning team-mates and the Anfield atmosphere, according to ex-Liverpool defender Stephen Warnock.
The club and football world were shaken to the core by the passing of Jota aged 28 and his brother Andre Silva, 25, in a car accident in Spain on July 3.
And Warnock, who played 42 times for Liverpool between 2002 and 2007, has spoken about the ongoing effect he believes the tragedy is having on Arne Slot’s struggling team.
Fans have been singing the song of their late No 20 in the 20th minute of every game and Warnock believes there is a clear change in the performance afterwards.
He told BBC Radio 5 Live: ‘You’ve got a team that’s mourning in that changing room. How do the new players integrate into that? It’s a horrible situation.
‘It has to have an effect. They are human beings. One thing I notice every time I come to Anfield or watch Liverpool play is the Diogo Jota song after 20 minutes goes up and there is a 5-10 min spell where the tempo drops completely.’
Diogo Jota’s death is having an impact on his team-mates and the Anfield atmosphere, says Stephen Warnock
Warnock (above) said the constant reminder of Jota’s passing must be tough to deal with
He thinks the ‘constant reminder’ is something the Liverpool players are having to cope with while trying to perform.
Warnock added: ‘The players are hearing that song and your mind will wander in that moment to one of their friends and close colleagues.
‘In the changing room his locker is still there, so you’re sat with a constant reminder of that person you’ve lost and that can’t be easy.
‘Some people will be able to put that to one side but for some it will weigh really heavy on their shoulders.’
Liverpool have lost six of their last seven games in a dreadful run of form with plenty of issues and theories on what’s going wrong.
But as Warnock points out, perhaps the ongoing mourning process is among the greatest challenges to the squad when it comes to dealing with their grief to play at their best.
It is a sensitive area of discussion and one club captain Virgil van Dijk already alluded to after the 2-1 defeat by Chelsea earlier this month.
‘Nobody said that it was going to be plain sailing whatsoever,’ he said.
Liverpool fans sing Diogo Jota’s chant on the 20th minute of every game for their late No 20
‘It was always going to be ups and downs for multiple reasons that we shouldn’t forget, and all we have to do is stick together.’
Another former player to express the significance of how Jota’s death will be affecting Liverpool’s stars is ex-Chelsea midfielder Jon Obi Mikel.
On his Heart One Podcasthe said: ‘Let’s not forget that a massive tragedy happened at the club that nobody expected.
‘As footballers, we spend more time with our teammates than with our own families because we are together in the dressing room every single day.
‘Losing such a massive figure is always going to affect these players.
‘It doesn’t matter how well they started the season or how talented they are – something like this hits you emotionally, and it stays with you.
‘For me, whatever is happening at the club, the emotion is still very raw. When you look at Mohamed Salah right now, who was very close to Jota, you can see that he is a shadow of his former self.
Jota (right) tragically died in a car accident alongside his brother Andre Silva in July
‘So I think we need to be careful and a bit more understanding in the way we criticise this Liverpool team.’
Salah is one of the Liverpool stars to have been visibly moved to tears at Anfield this season.
On the opening day victory against Bournemouth, the winger was seen looking overcome with emotion at full time when he went over to the Kop, who were singing Jota’s chant.
He later said he was not prepared for how he would feel and found himself ‘breaking down a little bit’.
Salah has not been at his scintillating best for the Reds and how much the death of his friend is impacting performances is of course impossible to tell.
The Egyptian managed to get back on the scoresheet in Liverpool’s defeat by Brentford last weekend and will return to action on Saturday against Aston Villa having been rested for the Carabao Cup exit on Wednesday.
