DAZED BUT UNFAZED

Klopp insists he’s seen no fear despite Liverpool’s wobbly form as he hopes United slip opened door to top four

JURGEN KLOPP has looked deep into the eyes of his struggling Liverpool players – and insisted he’s seen no fear, despite their top-four tremors.

The Reds have looked dazed and confused in recent weeks, blowing what seemed an impregnable position in the race for a Champions League spot. Only Manchester United’s shock draw with Swansea has allowed them back into the race. Realistically, the Anfield outfit must win their last four games to sit at Europe’s high table. Even though that looks far from likely after disastrous performances against Bournemouth and especially Crystal Palace last week – when they threw away three vital points – Klopp believes his men are still up to the challenge. Asked if he sensed any fear in his troops as they prepare for the final fight with United and City, he said: “No. I didn’t feel anything like this in the last few weeks. Why should we think about it too much? I do not feel fear – not one second so far. “I think the last game in the last few minutes, yes, but that was not about the top four. “It was about giving the game away from out of our hands.” Liverpool were handed a lifeline as United blew four points in the last four days, but they can’t afford any slip-ups. And with tricky visits to Watford tonight and then West Ham, winning their final four games is far from certain. The Liverpool boss believes United’s tough run-in will take its toll, and give his side the breathing space they need to guarantee Champions League football next season. “The situation is like it is. If you look at the points, everything is good. If you look at the number of games played it is like, ‘oh’. It is not like it looks,” he added. “It is easy mathematics to know what points the other teams can get, but they play against each other and all that stuff. “No team of those we are fighting for the top four can win all their games.” Yet Watford are a daunting test. It was the scene of quite possibly the worst performance of Klopp’s reign so far, when they visited Vicarage Road at Christmas in 2015 and were not only battered 3-0, but lucky to get nil. The German believes it is a different Watford side this time – and more importantly, a different Liverpool side, which has shown with wins at Stoke and West Brom in the last two away games, they can mix it with physical opponents. “We had a good Christmas party afterwards, that’s what I remember! I can’t remember what I felt after that game. I’m not sure if it was the worst game but it was very bad,” he said of the hammering at Watford. “I don’t have too many memories of last season’s game, so it doesn’t make sense to prepare with that in mind. “Watford are different since then – different manager, different players – and we are different too. You can’t compare. “They are a physical team with a lot of tall players, so we have to deal with throw-ins and all that stuff. “But we have had a lot of physical games and challenges in the last few weeks, and we know we need to be ready for this game.” Adam Lallana is back and likely to be on the bench.