Confounded Klopp demanding rapid response
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp questioned the attitude of his players after their miserable run continued with a 2-0 loss at lowly Hull City on Saturday.
The German said the Reds must turn words into actions after failing to win any of their five Premier League games this year — the first time that has happened since 1954.
And Klopp has demanded an immediate change in order to reach the “big, big target” of Champions League qualification via a top-four spot.
Liverpool’s only victory in the last 10 matches in all competitions was its FA Cup replay at fourth-tier Plymouth Argyle.
Saturday’s loss at Hull means the relegation-threatened Tigers joined a list that features Burnley, Swansea and Bournemouth among clubs to beat Liverpool in the league this term.
In contrast, Liverpool has the best record in the division when playing sides currently in the top six.
“We have to take all the criticism from everywhere,” said Klopp when asked if he thought there was a flaw in his team’s attitude.
“I don’t think there is. I don’t want to give an answer now, but from outside, I can understand why you ask that if we have that record we have against those teams and another record against other teams.
“I know the boys, I see them every day and I don’t see this during the week but I understand how you could see it like this from outside.
“We expect more from ourselves and we have to show more than we did today and it’s my responsibility to make it possible for the players to show more than we showed today.
“We didn’t show the right mood. I don’t know if it was attitude, but all football performances are a mixture of everything — confidence, attitude, passion, a lot of things.
“But the only answer we can give is on the pitch, I can’t give you an answer here now.”
Big target
Liverpool has long since abandoned hope of catching runaway leader Chelsea at the top of the Premier League but, on current form, even a topfour finish and place in next season’s Champions League looks beyond them.
“The title is not my biggest problem,” Klopp said. “I want to play much better football with my team.
“But it’s not about talking about where we want to be. We have to show it. We have shown it a few times this season, but it is a long time since we showed it consistently.
“That’s what we have to change immediately. The Champions League is an outstanding, big, big target.
“So many teams want to play there but to qualify for the Champions League from England is difficult. But on performances like today, we don’t have to talk about this.”
We have to take all the criticism from everywhere.” Jurgen Klopp, Liverpool boss