Nothing to fear for us at Anfield
Klopp dismisses jitters with Liverpool on brink of elite
LIVERPOOL manager Jurgen Klopp is confident the club’s Champions League challenge will not falter at the final hurdle because of the Anfield jitters.
While the visit of relegated Middlesbrough would seem an ideal fixture in which to secure the victory needed to guarantee a top-four finish, Liverpool have picked up only two points from their last three home games against Bournemouth, Crystal Palace and Southampton, and have also been upset by Swansea City and Wolves in front of the Kop this season.
It is Klopp’s way to infuse his players with confidence and, aware that any anxiety from the supporters could transmit its way to the pitch, he is putting the recent Anfield wobbles down to mere coincidence.
‘The difference between our recent home and away results is only in finishing and one or two defensive situations. It’s not because the games were home or away or because of the pressure of Anfield,’ he argued.
‘ We couldn’t have created better chances against Crystal Palace but in the end we didn’t finish.
‘The performance at West Ham was in a few parts worse than Palace but we finished and beat them 4-0.
‘It was more coincidence that we won away and didn’t have the results at home. Now we only have to play one football game, using the power of Anfield. It’s our stadium, our fans are around us and we love it.
‘We won’t think about the mistakes we’ve made. We have this unbelievable powerful club behind us and now we have the circumstances to use this again.
‘I know how people feel when they go the stadium, they’re like, “Oh my God, please”, but we have to be smart as well as emotional.’
In many ways, Liverpool’s achievement in pushing for a Champions League spot has been underestimated. Their budget has been far smaller t han eit her Manchester City or Arsenal, who could pip them this afternoon, and a relatively thin squad has been badly hit this year by injuries to Philippe Coutinho, Sadio Mane and captain Jordan Henderson — the last two still absent.
Recent history has also been against them, qualifying for the Champions League only once since Rafa Benitez left in 2009.
‘One hundred per cent, my players deserve to finish in the top four,’ insists Klopp. ‘It doesn’t happen too often that you need 76 points to be sure of the Champions League, this is a special season, but they have always been ready to bounce back in different situations. They have always been focused and now at the end there’s still something to go for. This is our target and we have the opportunity.’
This afternoon marks the end of Klopp’s first full season at Liverpool. Progress has been made off the field with the capacity at Anfield increased to 54,000 with the potential to expand even further and plans to merge the first- team and academy training facilities at Kirkby.
The manager says he will be busier in the transfer market this summer than last, and it will be interesting to see if striker Daniel Sturridge decides to stay after his goalscoring return last weekend.
Klopp says the pressure on him comes from within rather than from the club owners, who offered him a new contract during the season. Even if Liverpool slip up to allow Arsenal to overtake them, the German will be in charge at Anfield next season. ‘I’m a really lucky guy because I never had this pressure from owners. I never had it. I always had really great support from all my bosses in the past,’ says Klopp. ‘But of course there is pressure, there is pressure in life. I have been in football since I was five-years-old and have always wanted to win. We are used to it and we have to play football.’ There is one happy precedent for Liverpool fans. On the final day of 2014-15 when Klopp had announced he was leaving Borussia Dortmund, the team needed a result against Werder Bremen to get into Europe. They won 3-2, leaving Klopp punching the air with joy. A repeat this afternoon would see Liverpool back among the elite and better able to attract top players. ‘The more you try, the bigger your desire is, the more likely you will be to have these kind of finals,’ added Klopp. ‘My personality is like this. I always dream of the biggest things.’