Adam Bogdan points to the cup of coffee he is sipping from.

“I drink a lot more of this stuff these days, I can tell you!” he laughs. “I have to!”

Fatherhood, eh?

The Liverpool FC goalkeeper is a relative newcomer to family life, but he's learning fast. His daughter, Mila, was born in July, shortly after he made the decision to move to Anfield from Bolton Wanderers.

Two life-changing events in the space of a few days would be enough to knock some out of their stride, but not Bogdan. Instead, the Hungary international is revelling in the extra responsibility – both at home and at work.

“Being a father helps me to switch off from football,” he tells the ECHO as we sit down at Melwood. “I do my 100% here, then I go home and do my 100% there!

“The main thing, though, is that you start to see things differently. You don't think so much about the things that are not important, you don't dwell on things.

“You're not sitting there worrying 'what's wrong with the car?' or 'should we go out on Tuesday night?' or whatever. There are far more important things to concern yourself with. I've learned that.”

Getting his mind right

He speaks like a man who knows the value of clear thinking – a vital trait, one would suggest, for a goalkeeper.

Little wonder, too. Where some players might prefer to downplay, or even ignore, the importance of psychology in football, Bogdan embraces it. His work with a sports therapist, he says, has had a massive impact on his career.

“For me, that was a big step in my career,” he says. “It's made a huge difference to me.

“When I got relegated with Bolton (in 2012), there was so much going on in my mind, I needed to clear it up.

“I was so eager to make sure we got back straight away. I felt responsible for it on my own almost, but we didn't get promoted and then I got a knee injury which put me out. I had so much going on which I maybe wasn't dealing with well, so my agent suggested I should speak to his friend.

“At first, you think 'is this for me?' and you maybe don't want people to know that you are speaking to a psychologist, but it's no big deal, is it? Now, we speak every two weeks or so.

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“For me, it just simplifies everything. Basically, you know what is important in life and what you should be thinking about, but there are so many other things going on that you can become distracted. Especially if you're like me, trying to be perfect all the time!

“Speaking to someone just simplifies what I need to focus on and what I don't need to focus on.”

Like, for example, learning to shut out the kind of critical comment which inevitably follows goalkeepers around?

“Yes, absolutely,” he says. “That's something the sports psychologist has helped a lot with, putting aside the things you can't control and worrying about the things that you can.

“Everyone has their opinion. And you can hear it from everybody – 'oh, did you see that comment online?' or whatever – but as you get older you get more mature and can deal with that better.

“The only opinions that matter, really, are those of your manager, your coach and your close family. You can't worry about what everyone else thinks, or else you'd drive yourself mad!”

Achterberg's influence

Particularly important to Bogdan, he says, is the opinion of John Achterberg, his goalkeeping coach at Anfield.

The Dutchman is something of a talking point among Liverpool supporters. Having joined the Reds' backroom team in 2009, he has survived the departure of no fewer than four managers, as well as a host of other staff changes.

Those that work with him speak highly of his coaching skills, and Bogdan is happy to add his name to that list.

“Well firstly, without his recommendation I wouldn't be at Liverpool I don't think,” he says.

“We started to work together in July, and it wasn't easy for me at first. The standards here are so high, and I had to get used to that. I found it really hard at first.

“John trains as if you are playing a match, he shoots at you and works you the way the first team players or the opposition would, so that you are used to those situations.

“At Liverpool, goalkeeper training is about moving your feet, standing up, cutting off angles. Because if you gamble and try to go early at this level, players are good enough to make you look silly.

“I was really glad that he stayed at the club when the changes were made. I know what he expects, I know what I have to do to keep improving, and I feel that he will help me to do that. He's an important figure for me and I enjoy working with him.”

Bogdan on...training with Steven Gerrard

“It was a great experience. He's a legend, one of the best players this club has ever had. It made my day.

“When you train, it's supposed to be normal. But for me, this was not normal! It was one of those moments where you have to pinch yourself.

“He's someone I've watched for many years. So you have all these memories stored, and then suddenly he's there and you're training alongside him. It's huge.

“It was a fantastic experience for me...and I'm sure it was a fantastic experience for him to train with me also, hey?! We'll ask him, shall we?”

Bogdan on...Klopp

“I have to be honest, I haven't spoken to him one-on-one.

“But his father was a goalkeeper, so he has an idea about the position. He doesn't shout, he's not a goalkeeper-hater like some managers!

“He's a good person, how he comes across in the media is the same as how he is in real life.

“He has a very simple and very clear way that he wants to play, and he gets that message across. He gets everybody pulling in the same direction, and I think you can see that on the pitch.

Bogdan on...going to Euro 2016

“It's great for the country. Everyone is buzzing. Finally kids can support their own country at a big tournament, we don't have to support England this time!

“It's huge, and I hope that, as a nation, we use this achievement properly and invest in the future of football in Hungary.”