Klopp: Liverpool’s poor recent run is no catastrophe
Manager defends misfiring forwards and appeals for calm German convinced ‘resilient’ side can rekindle title defence
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp dismissed the idea of a ‘catastrophic’ dip in form at Anfield as he seeks to revive a faltering title defence.
Ahead of tonight’s Premier League meeting with Burnley, Klopp appealed for perspective, suggesting his team’s performances are better than a run of two wins in seven games suggests.
Unsurprisingly, Klopp defended his famed front three – under greater scrutiny after failing to score in their past three league fixtures – and suggested calmness and resilience will improve his club’s current position.
“It is not a catastrophe. It is not perfect. But that is not important,” said Klopp.
“It’s the situation we are in. Things change overnight. I think I heard somewhere I have to rebuild this team. The world is a crazy place. No one has time any more.
“I am long enough [in the game] to know you never really get time. You only get time if you always make steps forward. After last season it is clear we didn’t make steps forward and we want to change that.”
Klopp should be able to recall fit-again Joel Matip tonight, which will restore balance to his lineup, especially in midfield, where the energy of captain Jordan Henderson has been missed in the past two league games. He has played centre-back in Matip’s absence.
The German coach said recent results can be attributed to “small details”. “We all know it is all about results, but sometimes you can see little steps in the right direction or not,” said Klopp.
“Sometimes we have to be really – not stubborn – resilient maybe. We are on it, believe me. We take it seriously, and I can promise we want to be successful.”
With Liverpool four points behind leaders Leicester City with a game in hand, unbeaten at home for four years, and still looking ahead to the Champions League, Klopp pointed out he has found himself in more difficult positions in his managerial career.
“It was much more often where we had to fight against pretty much everything to stay in the league, or when we were in the second division in Germany to get out of the league,” said Klopp. “I learned that it doesn’t help if you get overly active in difficult situations.” Despite so much attention on the defence, it is Liverpool’s attack which has been under scrutiny in the past few days, with Roberto Firmino’s lack of goals again raising questions.
“We didn’t score a lot of goals in the last few games. It doesn’t mean Roberto’s performance dropped,” said Klopp.
“It is about the whole team. The boys know goals are not flying in and you have to work on it. They will come again.” With only eight points separating West Ham in seventh from current leaders United, Klopp anticipates the table to remain unpredictable for a while. “It changes all the time as it is so close,” he said. “We have to be ready, 100 per cent.”