Klopp is paddling hard to catch up

EVERY time Jurgen Klopp pulls on his training kit at Melwood there is a reminder up above of the standards to which he is seeking to aspire.

Inspiration takes the form of a quote from Bob Paisley which newly adorns one of the changing-room walls.

“When you count second place as failure then standards are becoming fantastically high. We never celebrate second place here,” read the words of wisdom espoused by Liverpool’s most successful manager.

There have been other changes during a summer facelift to what Klopp regards as his football HQ while a decision is taken on whether to move to a new purposebuilt facility, merge with the academy at nearby Kirkby or invest in a total upgrade.

In the players’ dressing room there is a silhouette on the wall of the aftermath of the exhilarating Europa League victory over Borussia Dortmund when Liverpool’s players linked arms in a line and celebrated in front of the Kop.

A communal area has also been created for the squad to chill out in between – and after – double sessions and foster the spirit required to underpin their efforts.

To that end, breakfast is compulsory. Outside, a paddle tennis court is in the process of being completed. When Klopp took his squad to Tenerife for a training break last March during an international week, he fell in love with the game and requested one be built at Melwood.

Some might see it as an indulgence, but it will also double as a head tennis court for the players, while offering Klopp somewhere to wind down after long hours and credit. Just how sizeable those forward steps are, however, becomes blurred by defeats such as the insipid reverse to Burnley last weekend.

“Everything could have been better but it could have been worse. We are still on the way,” said Klopp. “The last defeat feels always stronger than the last win.

“The players developed in the last few months. You get more experience. It doesn’t mean we are 200 per cent better. It is just that we feel stronger together.”

Ahead of the return to Tottenham, Klopp has been in charge of 32 league games winning 14 and drawing nine. Questions remain as to whether there is the quality to penetrate the league’s upperreaches. The hope for Liverpool must be that Klopp’s glass-halffull optimism is well placed.

“We have to build on our experience and create the future with this team,” said Klopp.