JUR THE MAN
Klopp says he hasn’t become a bad manager overnight ... but reckons any other coach would be facing the sack
JURGEN KLOPP insists he is still a top manager – despite a disastrous season.
And the German boss admits if it was another manager in charge at Anfield, they would be facing the sack.
But Klopp has huge credit in the bank and the full backing of the club’s Boston-based owners, following four trophy-laden seasons.
So he is in no danger, despite Liverpool languishing 21 points behind leaders Arsenal and 10 points off a top-four place.
But, as he heads back to Brighton’s Amex Stadium today in the FA Cup, Klopp accepts that defending holders Liverpool must return to the high standards they have set.
And he has promised fans that Liverpool will “go for it with all they have” in the remaining months of the season.
“I didn’t become a bad manager overnight,” said Klopp. “I was never as good as people probably said or not as bad as some people might think.
“But imagine if you were here today talking to another coach of Liverpool because last season we’d won all four trophies and I said, ‘See you later – holiday!’.
“Imagine if you see a different face and he has to explain these things and he tells you how it is. Nobody would listen!
“They’d say last season was great and this year is not great – so go! You have to have wide shoulders and really just take it.
“It’s tough, I’m sorry. But we will go for it with all we have to get out of it and then play in a way that the people can’t wait to go to the stadium again.
“Hopefully, we can get through this together and get much closer again. From there, we all know anything can happen.”
Klopp admitted this season was always a big challenge even without the injuries which have blighted their campaign.
“I always knew it would be difficult. Last season was
super -intense and much longer than we expected because who would have expected us to be in so many finals? It was clear it would be difficult, but, with lesser injuries, I think we can agree we could easily have had at least five points more. “OK, that still wouldn’t make a brilliant season, but we’d be fighting for the Champions League. That’s a normal season.
“But injuries to decisive players have made it an especially average or bad season so far – and you cannot just replace them.
“On top of that, if you don’t have time to train and you have three days until the next game, it’s not like you can invent football in those one-and-a-half sessions.”
Klopp takes his Liverpool legacy seriously, but is not interested in the past.
“Who cares how close we were to being champions? I couldn’t care less,” he added. “And I don’t think for a second how it felt to win the Champions League.
“Do we want to win it again? Of course. Does it look like we will smash Real Madrid? Maybe not. But it’s a competition where we are pretty good and when the games come, we’ll be 100 percent ready.
“We’ve not given fans much this season, but we are still in two cup competitions and we’ll not give up in the league. “Other teams are doing well and we respect them, but we want to beat them and I’ll see how to do
that at Brighton.”
It was clear it would be difficult, but, with lesser injuries, I think we could have had at least five
points more