My loyal Reds won’t quit if we miss top 4
Jurgen says stars will stay despite Salah Chelsea strop
JURGEN KLOPP has warned his players they’re not wanted at Liverpool if they’re considering leaving should the team fail to qualify for the Champions League next season.
But the Reds boss is adamant he knows every member of his squad well enough to trust that they will all – including Mo Salah – have the loyalty to stay and put things right next season.
Speaking candidly for the first time about the apparent crisis which has engulfed the club, Klopp addressed many situations, stating...
●There are NO behind-the-scenes problems with Salah.
●He WON’T leave in the summer.
●Failure to finish in the top four won’t signal a financial meltdown. ●The owners want him to stay to put things right. ●He wants to keep his squad together. ●He can still attract top players if there is no Champions League next season. Speaking about the prospect of missing out on the top four, he said: “If a player wants to leave because we don’t play CL then I don’t want him.
“If a player does not want to come to us because we don’t play Champions League next season then I don’t want him. And it is not a personal thing but it is always like this.”
And that includes Salah. The forward was visibly angry and upset when he was substituted just 62 minutes into the devastating defeat by Chelsea, and petrol was added to the fire of that controversy by his agent the following morning.
Klopp though, insisted his top scorer is happy. He said:
“These kind of stories, they didn’t happen. I can not guarantee it for the future, for all time, say it will never happen, but these kind of discussions never happened.
“You get subbed, you are a striker and you think you should stay on the pitch. That’s not an issue.”
And Klopp insisted that everyone at the club is totally committed to the cause of solving the crisis.
He said: “We all know we came together to the top and we will sort it together. We all fight together now.
“The owners want me to sort the situation and I want to sort the situation with the players. It is not a situation where a player in the squad says we are not in the Champions League so I have to leave. That will not happen.”
SUZANNE MULVEY has football coursing through her veins. The 36-year-old developed a love for the game growing up in Edinburgh, and has enjoyed a career playing for the leading clubs in Scotland and proudly representing her country.
Now striving for promotion with Partick, the mother of three boys has embarked on an ambitious project to help the next generation of talented young footballers earn sporting scholarships to top universities in the USA.
Her lifelong passion for the game hasn’t gone unnoticed – and certainly not by her mum, Karen, who nominated her for Coral’s Fan of the Year competition. Having been picked out as this month’s winner by legendary striker Alan Shearer, Suzanne is being rewarded with £1,000 worth of football-related prizes that will deliver some fantastic resources for her new venture to help young footballers.
“Football has given me so much in my life. Being able to give something back and help the next generation enjoy the game is something I’m dedicated to,” she explains. “Winning the £1,000 means I can buy muchneeded equipment to help the players improve – particularly at this difficult time.”
As a monthly winner, Suzanne will have the chance to be crowned Coral’s Ultimate Football Fan of the Year at the end of the season – when she could net another £10,000 in football prizes.
Suzanne has dedicated her life to the sport. “I remember always having a ball at my feet from an early age,” she says. “I’ve got an older brother and he doesn’t play football, so I’ve no idea where it came from. It was just in me.
“But there weren’t as many opportunities as there are now, so it was not until I reached 16 before I was in a proper set-up and was able to progress and keep improving.”
STAR PLAYER
Suzanne has enjoyed every kick and tackle of her globetrotting adventure ever since. She has played for leading clubs including Celtic, Rangers and Glasgow City, and captained Motherwell to promotion in 2018 with a record points haul – for which she was voted the division’s player of the year.
Always seeking new challenges, Suzanne also played a season in Iceland and has earned 37 caps for her country – one highlight of which was playing against the US women’s national team in front of a 15,000-strong crowd in Jacksonville, Florida.
Now captain of Partick Thistle Women, Suzanne hasn’t let lockdown and a lack of fixtures stunt her ambition. Instead she has seen it as a chance to give back.
Her new venture, Sentinel Sports, helps young athletes to improve their health, fitness and skills as they prepare for a future in football, and assists them in gaining scholarships to study at universities in the USA, where they can train like professionals.
“A few girls that I know asked me to help them out, and as soon as I started to do a bit of research I fell in love with the idea,” Suzanne says. “In the 15-21 age group, so many players, both male and female, fall away from the game. This gives them an opportunity to go away and grow as a player and also a person. A lot of them come from backgrounds where they’ve not had great experiences.
“When I scored a goal it was a great feeling – but watching somebody that I’ve helped score a goal is more rewarding now.”
The final word has to go to Mum: “To me she is a fan of all football,” Karen says, “whether it’s playing, training, representing, watching. Anything football – that’s Suzanne. That’s definitely my girl!”
If you’re inspired by Suzanne’s story and know of a football fanatic who deserves the same recognition, Coral wants to hear about them. It could be someone who has shown unstinting devotion to club or country, who has dedicated their life to the game, or who is bringing others into the sport and making them the best they can be.
The Football Fan of the Year will be someone who eats, sleeps and breathes the beautiful game – and can inspire others to go above and beyond for the sheer love of football.
Being able to give something back and help the next generation enjoy the game is something I’m dedicated to
AARON McENEFF’S Hearts hotel hell is over and the midfielder is now settled in Edinburgh – on and off the pitch.
The deadline-day arrival from Shamrock Rovers has endured a hectic time since making the switch across the Irish Sea and has been housed in the Marriott Hotel next to the club’s Oriam training base.
Having impressed in his two substitute appearances and two starts for the league leaders, McEneff’s addition looks a shrewd one by Robbie Neilson, adding energy and drive that have been lacking in the middle of the park.
Life away from Tynecastle has been more sedate, with McEneff having few options to occupy his downtime and battle the boredom.
The 25-year-old isn’t one for complaining, though, and hopes now he has his own pad and girlfriend Ellen has joined him in the capital, he can hit even greater heights on the pitch.
McEneff said: “I’m a lot more settled now. I’ve got my own place after being in the hotel for three weeks. My missus is over with me so it should be a lot better from now on.
“The Scottish rugby boys were in there as well. Other than them, I just saw two of the other lads who signed. They arrived before me so got out of the hotel quite quickly.
“As you can imagine, going back from training to a hotel room every day wasn’t ideal.
“That’s the situation and we are in a good position compared to a lot of people in the world, so I’m not going to complain about it too much.
“I went plenty of walks, cooked, watched TV, played the PlayStation, simple stuff. Your daily life changes and you can’t even go down for a coffee.
“As I said, there’s a lot more going on in the world for us to be crying about not going for a coffee or a meal.”
Punters have liked what they’ve seen from McEneff but he insists there’s much more to come. The midfielder is targeting his first goal in maroon, which would be welcome against Dundee.
He said: “I’ve made a positive enough impact coming off the bench, then against Morton in my first start at home I felt like I had a good 60 minutes, getting on the ball and I should have scored.
“I maybe died out a little in that game, just due to a lack of match fitness. But then against Inverness I felt a lot stronger and wasn’t tired at all for whole 90. the
“I’d like to get my name on the scoresheet and create a few goals for the team.”
World Cup qualifying kicks off in a couple of weeks’ time, with Ireland taking on Serbia and Luxembourg, before a friendly with Qatar.
Another call-up may be ambitious for McEneff given his lack of game time since he was included last year.
But that doesn’t mean the ex-Tottenham kid has fallen off the radar of the national boss.
He said: “Stephen Kenny texted me just as I signed.
“He wished me luck with the move and said he’d be monitoring my progress. That’s the last I heard. I’m sure they’ve got people watching the games and we have played a few on TV. You’re putting yourself in the shop window as long as you’re playing. All you can do is try your best for your team.”
KILMARNOCK need a creative spark to clamber clear of relegation trouble and Alan Power reckons Kyle Lafferty could be the man to supply it.
Tommy Wright’s men stopped the rot last weekend with a 1-1 draw at home to Dundee United – their first point after eight straight defeats.
Scoring has been a major problem, with Zech Medley’s leveller seven days ago their first goal in six matches.
They could have had a second had Lafferty’s strike not been disallowed in what was his first start for the Rugby Park outfit.
But Power saw enough in the former Rangers and Hearts striker’s performance to believe he can play a big part in steering the team away from the drop.
Only a late St Johnstone equaliser against Hamilton in midweek kept Killie off the bottom and they face fellow strugglers Ross County this afternoon in Dingwall.
Power admits they need something special over the last seven games and will look to Lafferty to deliver it.
The Irishman said: “Kyle certainly keeps us on our toes in and around the place. And he’s been good for the other strikers at the club.
“He’s a hard worker and technically very good. We just want him to score some goals now.
“You saw his qualities against United last weekend.
“He can pull things out of nowhere, like when he hit the bar.
“That’s what we need – people to do stuff that’s out of the ordinary.”
The midfielder reckons Killie’s run-in against teams around them in the table are all winnable games.
Tenth-placed Staggies are also fighting for their lives and Power added: “We’ve been playing well and been unlucky. But the game with County will be a good judge.
“It will be a real up and at them game. Our players will have to come to the forefront now.”