I’M NO CLOWN
Klopp’s fury as critics blast comic defence
JURGEN KLOPP has rounded on his critics, insisting: I’m no clown.
Liverpool’s season has gone off the rails since the turn of the year with Klopp coming under fire. Former Reds star Jamie Carragher was the latest to slam Klopp after Monday’s 3-1 hammering at managerless Leicester. Carragher criticised Klopp’s failure to sort out a defence that conceded 50 league goals last season and 33 so far this term. But Klopp said: “I am not a clown, even if a few people think I am. I am not always laughing like crazy. I am a normal person. It is not Turn to Page 51
about laughing the whole week and ignoring the problems you have. “We didn’t expect to be that bad against Leicester. But there were a lot of reasons why we played that bad.” Liverpool have won two out of 12 games in 2017, crashing out of both domestic cup competitions and sliding out of the top four. They looked set for a much better campaign when they topped the Premier League briefly in November, and went on to reach the EFL Cup semi-finals.
Damaging losses to teams in the lower half of the table, including Bournemouth, Swansea and Hull, have wrecked their ambitions.
But Klopp urged players and fans to maintain belief as top-four rivals Arsenal prepare to visit Anfield in the Premier League this evening.
Klopp said: “I think we showed this season what we are capable of. Of course, we have to learn from what has happened so far and use the good things as a base.
“The quality of the squad is really good. We don’t want to talk about the future, but, yes, we have to improve. That’s how it is for the summer.
“At the moment, if things become a little bit harder, a lot of people lose the belief immediately. “Because we didn’t finish in the top six here for years, it does not have to be like that this year. We
have to fight for it.”