Gary dig at Klopp
PAUL HETHERINGTON GARY LINEKER last night accused Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp of showing a lack of respect for English football.
The England legend was also critical of the German manager’s knowledge of English football.
Lineker’s comments came after a young Liverpool side were knocked out of the FA Cup by Championship club Wolves.
He tweeted: “Don’t get Klopp playing his reserves with no European football.
“Shows a lack of knowledge of the depth in English football and respect.” TONY STENSON The former Anfield skipper thinks Jurgen Klopp’s side MUST beat Chelsea at home or the title race is OVER for the team he loves. Gerrard previously turned down a move to Stamford Bridge and he is certain the title could be won or lost in one definitive game. BT Sport’s newest pundit is desperate for a Liverpool win in order to halt the Premier League becoming a one-horse race. Gerrard believes it is now or never for Liverpool after they crashed out of the FA Cup yesterday, as they aim to chase down Antonio Conte’s Chelsea. The Reds legend said: “The whole league needs a win for Liverpool. It’s almost a last chance saloon to keep the title race alive. “The players, the manager and the staff aren’t daft, they know that if the gap goes to 13 points then it’s game over. “Liverpool have got a big month because they’ve hit a sticky patch and all that positivity from the start of the season has been lost a little bit. “Sadio Mane has gone away, Philippe Coutinho has been injured and Joel Matip hasn’t been able to play. Now, coming into February, we will see what this Liverpool team are about. “The manager and the fans are desperate to see a reaction. If they lose, then the title has gone. “I think everyone will have a Liverpool shirt on come Tuesday night because Tottenham, Man United, Arsenal and Man City will all be hoping they get that small glimmer of hope. “Chelsea have a massive advantage and they’ve only given away 11 points all season. “I think they could even improve in the second half of the campaign. People said several weeks ago that if they got an injury to Diego Costa they could have a wobble but the form of Eden Hazard, Pedro and the supporting cast has been good. “They’ve got the experience, they’ve got winners in the squad. If they were to win at Anfield I would be very surprised if they didn’t go on and win it.” Gerrard also revealed that he rejected several manager’s jobs in order to look, learn and listen at Liverpool as an academy coach. He admits leaving the game was never an option. The man who lifted the Champions League with the Kop side in 2005 added: “I knew what I wanted. “I think the situation I am in at the moment is that I’ve got two really, really good opportunities – one with BT and one as a coach at Liverpool. “I haven’t set myself any targets of where I want to be or what I want to do. “At the moment I want to learn. I am not good enough yet to be invited to Liverpool’s famous boot room. Hopefully, that might change and I am going to do all the coaching badges.” Gerrard will be at Anfield on Tuesday as a pundit and is a huge fan of Blues boss Conte. The ex-Juventus chief has won many admirers during his first season in English football and the former England captain is one of them. Gerrard said: “I went to watch Liverpool against Chelsea in America in pre-season. “It was fascinating, the two different styles. “Liverpool were hunting in packs and putting the pressure on Chelsea. “Conte set his side up to be compact, he played with three centre-backs and two wing-backs and you could see – it was only his second or third game of pre-season – how much he had achieved in such a short space of time.” The future of Chelsea’s John Terry has been up for discussion but Gerrard thinks his old England team-mate will have a say in title race. He has been impressed with the way Conte has man- managed his skipper, keeping him in the loop despite not playing him. Gerrard said: “Knowing John as I do, I can’t see him playing a peripheral role. “I can imagine him in everyone’s face, pushing them all on. “It’s probably his last c hance o f winning silverware under a top manager. That’s what I’d be thinking if I was him.” Gerrard is worried that Liverpool will again be football’s ‘nearly men’. He said: “The hardest thing is to get over the line, I found that myself. “You’re coming up against world-class teams and you need that extra something to get you over the line. “When you get to the final stretch, that’s when it becomes harder.”