We are not 500 miles from City

SPOT ON, JURGEN: THEY ARE ONLY 36 MILES UP THE M62.. BUT THEY’RE ALSO 9 POINTS FURTHER UP THE PREM TABLE

WITH his spluttering side finally exploding into life, Jurgen Klopp has a confident message: We are not that far away from Manchester City. And the Liverpool manager believes the huge promise of a record-breaking Champions League win in midweek can be the platform for the kind of assault on silverware that keeps stars like Philippe Coutinho and Emre Can at Anfield. Like all-conquering Premier League leaders City last season, Klopp’s side have been accused of lacking defensive solidity and ruthlessness in front of goal. Yet the German coach believes that, just like Pep Guardiola’s side, Liverpool were always only one morale-boosting win from going on a point-grabbing run. City’s own watershed moment came, ironically, with a 5-0 win over 10-man Liverpool in early September, and Klopp believes his men have now had the result to kick-start a compelling run with the incredible 7-0 win in Maribor. “I don’t compare City with us but I think that everyone can see we are not 500 miles away from them,” he said. “We are not too far away from matching their performances – it’s just that so far we haven’t been as clinical as they have been. “But we are still in the race, and I’m not saying we should fight only for a top four-place. “Performance-wise we are a team that should be fighting, but now we have to get the results.” Liverpool visit Spurs tomorrow knowing that it has been a happy fixture for them in recent years – they have not lost on their last four trips, although this is the first time they’ve played them at Wembley. Victory would be a huge result for Klopp’s men, taking them to within a point of Tottenham in the Premier League and perhaps heralding a repeat of last year’s run that took Liverpool top of the table on New Year’s Day. They were actually title favourites when 2017 broke. Klopp believes that an upturn in results, a challenge for the title, and a long run in the Champions League could yet persuade Can to sign a new contract and Coutinho to consider extending his stay on Merseyside. Asked if the little Brazilian had an agreement to join determined suitors Barcelona at the end of the season, he dismissed such a claim and instead explained what his side have to do to avoid such questions. “We have to create a situation that players want to be part of and, in this moment, we have this. Nobody thinks about January, nobody thinks of June or July,” he said. “With Coutinho, I’ve no clue. We will see. We don’t talk about things like this. At this moment the 100 per cent truth is that nobody thinks about this. Why should we? “It would not make sense. We have other moments when we can talk about these things but not in October.” Of Can – who has entered the final year of his contract without agreeing a new deal – Klopp said the midfielder’s incredible form shows exactly his commitment to the club. “I look for signs that the players have their mind elsewhere,” he said. “So far there is not a shadow of a doubt that he’s 100 per cent here.”