JURGEN: GLAD I GOT THINGS OFF MY CHEST
Klopp frank with players
IT IS Liverpool’s worst start to a Premier League season in a decade, Jurgen Klopp’s worst opening as a manager since 2005, and his second worst ever.
So even if it is not quite a crisis, it is enough to require a heart-to-heart. And, in the wake of the defeat at Manchester United, it took place at the team meeting on Wednesday, although it was more of an arm around the shoulder than a hair dryer.
Klopp said: “There was no discussion. I was getting things off my chest. The good thing about this meeting is I feel much better after it!
“It is not that I shout at the players, not at all. It is about putting things in perspective, what we did well and what we didn’t do well. Everything is judged, but in the end only one thing is important and that is what we think ourselves about it.
“We cannot do things to please the outside world, to make crazy challenges and get a red card.
“For us and for me it is clear what we have to do. I cannot go into detail but, of course, we talk about pretty much everything, especially the important things for us.”
Liverpool had not lost a Premier League game in 2022 until that painful reverse at Old Trafford on Monday, but coming after two disappointing draws, it leaves them desperately requiring a win to kick-start their season. Although Klopp would not reveal the full extent of what he shared with his players, he did explain what is required today as the Reds welcome Bournemouth to Anfield.
“This is the first proper fightback early in the season and it will take hopefully until the last day of the season – just us against the rest of the world – let’s go,” he said.
“We are doing it a harder way than I would prefer. We don’t make our start bigger or worse than it is but we don’t think it is great. We really want and have to do better.
“This is the chance we have now. The last five years might have looked different but our supporters know if you want to support a club without any kind of drama or lows then you cannot choose Liverpool. Our people are used to that.”
Klopp explained that what was said in the meeting was not an attack on his squad, but more him giving the benefit of his own experience.
He said: “Yes I can tell them things: I’m 55 and they are 30. I got washed with all kinds of water in my life, highs and lows, and it is all about how you deal with it.
“You always have to question yourself and what you make of it. The situation changes constantly, the perception from outside changes constantly, the pressure gets bigger, it is never the same.
“I don’t want to leave the boys alone in a situation like this. It is just about showing perspective.”