WIJNALDUM: JURGEN’S MY ALL-TIME TOP
GINI WIJNALDUM has leapt to the defence of under-fire Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.
Former Kop idols Didi Hamann and Jason McAteer have weighed into the German after seeing the Reds’ season stutter – despite yesterday’s huge win over title rivals Tottenham.
But Wijnaldum insists that Klopp is the best boss he has ever worked under.
The Dutch defender admitted: “I have been lucky to have had really good managers.
“Rafa Benitez, Dick Advocaat, Louis van Gaal, Phillip Cocu, Danny Blind, Steve McClaren, Erwin Koeman and Bert van Marwijk have all been great managers for me.
“But Jurgen Klopp is the best of all.
“He improves players and teams. He really turns everyone into a better player. Not one or two, like some. Klopp improves them all.
“Honestly, the way we play with Liverpool, the movement, pressing the opponent, hunting our opponents for the ball, creating space, the speed of the ball – it is all fantastic under Klopp.”
There have been suggestions that Klopp’s high-energy approach is to blame for Liverpool’s stuttering displays.
And Wijnaldum admits the amount of work thatr he’s been asked to do following his summer arrival from Newcastle has come as a shock.
He said: “Yes, we do need to be really fit – and our training sessions are even harder than our matches.
“Under Klopp, we have to execute training sessions as if we are actually in the middle of a real match.
“At Liverpool we did not have a day off from December 21 until the end of January.
“But I have never felt as strong as this in my entire career.
“Sometimes we have to run one kilometre in three minutes and 50 seconds.
“Then we have to play small-sided games before immediately doing the same kilometre run at the same speed.
“Klopp says that helps us to battle through the final parts of matches, when it is really tough.”