GREED IS GOOD
Kop boss Klopp reveals the secrets of ‘super-professional’ Salah’s success
JURGEN KLOPP has revealed Mo Salah’s stellar career has gone into orbit because he’s been “greedy” to be the best.
Egyptian strike-king Salah is closing in on 100 Liverpool goals as he returns to former club Chelsea today in red-hot form after an opening- day matchwinning hat-trick against Leeds.
Salah’s not stopped scoring since the day he walked into Anfield from Roma and posted 44 goals in his first season.
And Klopp says Salah is still successful because he’s lived up to his potential – and has not taken his foot off the gas.
And, while he’s amazed at Salah’s 97 goals in just three seasons at Anfield, Klopp isn’t at all surprised how his 28-year-old striker remains at the top.
“First and foremost, that’s down to Mo, not me,” said Klopp. “He deserves credit for that. A lot of things we do as a team help him be the player he can be, that’s true and he knows that.
“But, apart from that, you have to have a specific personality to invest so much in your career – and he’s not the only one doing that in our squad.
“When you score 44 goals in your first season quite a few players would say ‘OK, that was nice and now let’s think about other things’.
“But Mo is exactly the opposite. He stayed greedy and very determined. His work rate around the games is exceptional. So he is super-professional.
“All players do what you tell them, but it’s about how important you see it yourself and that gives you a completely different mindset on all the stuff.
“You want to be on top of your own potential and that’s what he wants.
“Where do you go, where do you find a striker who has played four years for a club having these kind of numbers? There are not a lot in the world at the moment.
“The numbers are just incredible. That’s true and I was really happy with him for the Leeds game – a good start and long may it continue.”
Salah’s being helped in his drive for glory by the friendly competitive rivalry of fellow strikers Sadio Mane (below) and Roberto Firmino.
And although former star and TV pundit Jamie Carragher suggested Salah may be underappreciated by some Kop fans, Klopp doesn’t agree.
“I think the Liverpool supporters know exactly what we have with Salah,” he said.
“I don’t know how the public actually sees him, they may have different views than me, but I don’t see that.
“Like everyone else here, we expect that he works his socks off in each session. But that doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate 100 per cent what we have from him – and that’s the same with the other players.
“But the story this team wrote together is that they constantly push each other and their appreciation b etween each other couldn’t be bigger. They like playing together and really respect each other.”