Inspiring Klopp sees the bigger picture at Anfield

MOST GAA club sides have climbed back on the horse in recent weeks getting back into pre-season training.

The slog is relentless at this time of year, especially if you’ve overdone the festive season and ‘wintered’ a little too well.

More often than not a new management team will have outlined their plans at a pre-Christmas players gathering and everyone will have signed up to the players charter on the new flipboard. The blind optimism at such meeting can be incredible. Nothing is impossible. The sky is the limit. Record numbers are in attendance. The boys who transferred out a couple a seasons ago have returned. The lads who couldn’t give commitment last year are back on board.

Even the grouping who fall out with management on an annual basis have given a tentative nod of approval. The new manager knows what went wrong last season, but that’s his little secret - for now. Unrealistic promises are made at the players’ Christmas party night out, many of them in the early hours of the morning. The stage is set for a new season. A new dawn.

You might even have adhered to some of those pledges in the run-up to the festivities, but your resolve collapsed around December 22nd or 23rd. And then you thought ‘feck it - what’s the point’. What followed next was a deluge of food, drink and boxes of Celebrations. The tightness in the neck of your shirt and in the waist of your trousers warned you to stay clear of the weighing scales.

You hope none of the neighbours were watching when you embarked on your first run of the year - under the cover of darkness. The Neighbourhood Watch text alert warned of a dangerously ill animal in the vicinity and a special unit from the council was on the way to clean up the mess. Cold sweats and hot flushes followed for several days and nights before the January/February training schedule arrived on the new whatsApp group. The diary is full. Forty slots out of a possible 59 are completed.

This undying commitment that you promised in early December was a mistake. Those ambitious statements of intent that rolled off the tongue so freely just four weeks ago are now biting you hard in the backside. You think about pulling a sickie on the night of the testing and weigh-in but think better of it in the end.

Best to face the music and promise not to put yourself through the same rigmarole next year. A breathless game at Anfield on Sunday afternoon saw Liverpool beat runaway league leaders Man City 4-3.

Not many Premier League games have you on the edge of your seat, but this was attacking football at its very best. The football philosophy of Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola is to be admired. Both managers first instincts are to attack and win the game rather that defend and try not to lose it.

Guardiola in particular has revolutionised the way Man City play and the results are there for everyone to see. Despite this setback Man City remain 15 points clear at the top of the table and are fully expected to claim their third Premier League title of the decade.

Liverpool continue to be magnificent in attack, but ongoing goalkeeping and defensive problems means top-four is the height of their current ambitions.

With Coutinho leaving for Spain, the fantastic four have been reduced to the terrific three, but Sala, Mane and Firmino in full flow are still brilliant to watch. They terrorised the Man City rearguard, particularly in the third quarter, but as is their wont in recent seasons Liverpool needed four goals to secure the points.

As you would expect Man City fought until the final whistle and Sergio Aguero almost snatched an equaliser at the death as the home defence crumbled in the closing minutes.

Klopp was almost euphoric in the post-match interview, but his ‘hair in the soup’ goalkeeping reference told you of his main concerns. It now seems clear that neither Karius nor Mignolet are the answer.

Some €75 million was spent on a top-class defender to address the club’s defensive frailties, but further spending is needed in order to transform the Reds into title contenders.

Despite being a Spurs fan I’ve always had a soft spot for Liverpool. They were always a team and a club that I admired greatly.

There have been several false dawns since their last league title success in 1990, but they are on the right course with Jurgen Klopp.

Yes, he can be a little naïve defensively at times, but his impact on Merseyside since his arrival has been incredible. Inspiring man management, making good players better, fearless tactics, bonding with the fans - Klopp is a manager completely in tune with the club’s ethos.