Jurgen Klopp makes honest Liverpool sack statement in light of the team’s underwhelming season
Despite a dismal season, Jurgen Klopp insists he remains a top manager.
However, the German manager admits candidly that if it were another manager in charge at Anfield, they would be fired.
After four trophy-laden seasons, it is fortunate for Klopp that the club’s Boston-based owners have given him their full support.
Therefore, he is not in jeopardy despite Liverpool’s 21-point deficit to Arsenal and 10-point deficit to the top four. However, as he returns to Brighton’s Amex Stadium for today’s FA Cup match, Klopp acknowledges that the defending champions must return to their high standards.
Moreover, he has assured fans that Liverpool will “go for it with everything they’ve got” in the remaining months of the season.
“I didn’t become a bad manager overnight. I was never as good as people probably said or not as bad as some people might think” said Klopp.
“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 that this season would have been difficult even without the injuries that have hampered their campaign.
“I knew it would be difficult, absolutely. 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. Okay, that still wouldn’t make a brilliant season but we would 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 respects his Liverpool legacy, but he has no interest in the past. Who cares that we were so close to being champions? I couldn’t care less. And I have no idea what it was like 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 comes we’ll be 100 per cent ready.
“So far, we’ve not given the fans much this season but we are still in two cup competitions and we’ll not give up in the league. Why should we?
“Others teams are doing really well and we respect them a lot, but we want to beat them and I will see how we can do that at Brighton.”
Jurgen Klopp makes honest Liverpool sack statement in light of the team’s underwhelming season
