THOMMO BACKING KLOPP TO HIT BACK

LIVERPOOL face a nervy end to the season – but they will be back stronger after a summer overhaul, says Phil Thompson.

The Reds have endured a challenging campaign after storming to Premier League glory last term.

Jurgen Klopp’s men face fierce rivalry for a top-four finish and were dumped out of the Champions League on Wednesday night.

Liverpool could only manage a 0-0 draw with Real Madrid at Anfield and lost the quarter-final showdown 3-1 on aggregate.

Reds legend Thommo (above) admits it could be a challenging final few weeks of the season but says Klopp’s side will be firing on all cylinders after a summer break.

“It’s going to be interesting where Liverpool finish,” he said.

“If we don’t get Champions League football, you wonder what consequences could come because of that. It is a little bit of a worry for Liverpool fans.

“But next season they’ll be one of the favourites again and deservedly so. Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Jordan Henderson will all be back.

“They’ve also had this massive rest because of their injuries so they’ll all be bigger, better and stronger – they will be challenging.”

Liverpool spent £70million to secure Diogo Jota, Thiago Alcantara and Kostas Tsimikas last summer.

Jota has impressed with eight goals in 14 Premier League appearances but Alcantara has failed to convince and Tsimikas has featured just once in the Premier League.

Thompson believes Klopp is facing a big rebuilding job once the transfer window reopens.

“It’s the spine of the team. We do need a centre-back in the summer,” he added.

“When Dejan Lovren left, Liverpool thought they could get by without him and cope with having only three centre-backs.

“The youngsters have done okay but are they going to be good enough going into next season?

“You need four centre-backs that are top quality.”