Jurgen: I don’t fear the sack
JURGEN KLOPP insists he has the backing of his bosses at Us-based Fenway Sports Group in Boston.
Liverpool’s title defence has imploded and his deposed champions face Fulham at Anfield today, hoping to end a run of five straight league defeats at a ground that was once a fortress.
But Klopp still believes his job is safe and owner John W Henry backs him.
“We cannot do other than our best and that’s how it always is,” he said.
“If there is somebody who thinks there is another manager who can do better, then they have to make the decision.
“But I don’t think that’s the case. Not that nobody can do it better, but that I don’t think any of the people who decide my future have that opinion – at least nobody told me.”
Klopp says it is hard to change too much because, apart from results, his champions aren’t playing so badly he needs to rip it up and start again.
“When we win football games we’re not constantly partying and if we lose, we are not punching each other’s face,” he said.
“So it is not that easy, it is somewhere in between. You need to find belief, optimism and positivity before a game to play.
“And that’s what we kind of always did. Most of the time I saw that. We had our share in games, we had big parts of the game and we lost them.
“After Chelsea, I spoke to Thomas Tuchel. He analysed us and HE didn’t understand how we lost the game.
“If you lose a game because you perform bad, you can change it.
“But if you play good and lose it – not because the opponent is better, but because you made a mistake or were unlucky – then we had so many of these defeats this year.”
KEVIN DE BRUYNE believes winning the Quadruple is a tall order – even for Manchester City.
Pep Guardiola’s stars go into today’s Manchester derby at the Etihad on an unbeaten 21-game run and still battling on four fronts.
But the Belgian midfielder claims the punishing schedule means the odds are stacked against a four trophy haul.
He said: “When you start the season and people ask me what I want to win, I want to win everything.
“But it is really hard. We were not far away two years ago when we won three out of four, but it is a lot of games and the schedule is hectic.
“When we went and played Borussia Monchengladbach we came back and played West Ham on a Saturday afternoon, we basically had no training and just travelled and played games.
“It is not easy and other teams are very good. We try to win whatever is possible and I know people can talk about winning everything, but it is hard work!”
De Bruyne is revelling in City’s form – but he’s not obsessed with the winning sequence.
He said: “We have probably surprised ourselves, but we never talk about the amount of games we have won. We just look at Sunday, City v United, and see it as a one-off and not as game 22 or whatever.”
SIR ALEX FERGUSON was given only a 20 per cent chance of survival by medics after suffering a brain haemorrhage.
The revelation of how close Ferguson came to losing his life is made in a new film, Never Give In, about the life of the former Manchester United boss.
Fergie, 79, reveals that five people were admitted to Salford Royal Hospital with brain haemorrhages on the same day, with only two of them surviving, and admits he feared dying after he collapsed at home in May 2018.
“I remember falling, after that I don’t remember a thing,” said Sir Alex (below).
“I just suddenly stopped. I was in no-man’s land.
“That day there were five brain haemorrhages and only two survived, I was one of them. So you know you’re lucky.
“It was beautiful weather, I always remember that. You’re looking out of the hospital window and you’re saying, ‘I wonder how many more sunny days I’m ever going to see again?’.
“Then I lost my voice, I just couldn’t get a word out. That was terrifying.
“Everything was going through my mind – ‘Is my memory going to be back and am I ever going to speak again?’.
“I would have hated to have lost my memory. It would have been a terrible burden on the family, if I’m sitting in the house and I don’t know who I am.”
Neurosurgeon Joshi George said: “I remember estimating his mortality at 80 per cent. There was an 80 per cent chance he would not survive.”
LEND A HAND
RIVALS are neutralising Manchester United by manmarking Bruno Fernandes.
Now boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has urged his stars to step up and take responsibility for making things happen when talisman Fernandes can not.
United have drawn four of their last five league games and failed to find the net in the last two against Chelsea and Crystal Palace.
Portuguese playmaker Fernandes has been off-key and not scored since last month’s penalty against Newcastle.
Solskjaer said: “Taking responsibility is important for everyone when they play football.
“Don’t wait for things to happen – you’ve got to make things happen. And we expect everyone to be a leader, everyone to take that responsibility.
“I know that teams are trying to man-mark Bruno at times and that’s not a dig at anyone.
“That’s just that sometimes in football they try to stop your best player. And someone else will have to step forward.
“Bruno might find a position, make space for others, create. He has created chances for others even when he’s not touched the ball.
“It’s about the movement and creating space for your teammate and taking that responsibility.
“We have had big moments in big games recently. Chances that we would normally put away and then everyone is rosy, everyone says we are the best thing since sliced bread.
“The game against Chelsea wasn’t far away from being almost a perfect away game.
“We should have had a penalty, we should have got the last counter-attack, one last pass away from winning the game.
“It is about taking the big moments and having some luck in the big moments.”
Solskjaer has also warned his players they will have to be at their counter-attacking best to have any hope of beating City.
United won last season’s
Etihad clash with a lethal burst of breakaways which brought firsthalf goals for Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial.
But Solskjaer’s men have not scored in their last three games and the Norwegian will tell his spluttering strike-force that unless they rediscover their venom they can forget about notching a third derby win in their last five league clashes.
He added: “You have to attack and defend at your absolute highest level.
There are fine margins and some luck at times.
“Some of the wins we’ve had against them, we’ve created some great counter-attacking opportunities.
“So we know in this
95 or 100 minutes we have to be on the front foot. We have to defend high and press at times.”