KLOPP BLOWS TOP
Kop boss hits out at Nevilles for Karius jibes
JURGEN KLOPP has stepped up his defence of goalkeeper Loris Karius by launching a withering attack on the Neville brothers.
The Liverpool keeper has been under fire following a shaky start to his Anfield career, with Gary Neville critical of his display at Bournemouth. Phil Neville also questioned the wisdom of Karius giving an exclusive interview to Sportsmail last Saturday.
Sportsmail columnist Jamie Carragher, a former Liverpool defender, was also highly critical of the way Karius performed in the 2- 2 draw with West Ham on Sunday.
Klopp had not intended to talk about Karius yesterday but could not resist pointing out how Gary Neville had fared during his unsuccessful stint as manager of Valencia last season.
Klopp said: ‘The pundits — former players most of them — forgot completely how it felt when they got criticised. Especially the Neville brothers. The one who was the manager, he obviously should know that too much criticism never helps. But he is not interested in
helping a Liverpool player, I imagine. He showed he struggled to judge players (as a manager) so why do we let him talk about players on television? I don’t listen to them. I am pretty sure Carra doesn’t speak too positively about Man United players.
‘Obviously the Neville brothers don’t like Liverpool. I have no problem. By the way, you can tell him I am not on Twitter. So if he wants to tell me something, Twitter doesn’t help.’
Klopp added: ‘My job is to protect the players as much as I can but I am not on the pitch so I cannot go with them. Criticism from outside is normal, for me, for the players, for the goalkeeper. I am not surprised about it. In my very first press conference I spoke a bit about the English media. Obviously most of you enjoy this harsh part.’
It would be a surprise if Klopp drops Karius for tomorrow’s trip to Middlesbrough but he refused to give any indication when pressed over whether he would continue to show faith in the 23-year-old, who signed from Mainz in June.
‘No answer for this,’ said Klopp. ‘Everything I say creates a story. If I say he plays, it’s this; if I say “no”, it’s this. There is absolutely no answer. Nothing has changed in terms of what I say in public. What I have to say to my players, that is not for public. That’s the problem — for you, not for me.’
If the cloud over Karius has caused Klopp a headache, one issue that will soon be solved is the return of influential midfielder Philippe Coutinho. Though Klopp does not know when Daniel Sturridge will be back from a persistent calf issue, Coutinho has set his sights on being ready for the New Year’s Eve clash against Manchester City. His rehabilitation from ankle-ligament damage sustained against Sunderland on November 26 has so far been smooth. MIKE DEAN is to take charge of the Merseyside derby next Monday at Goodison Park. It is the first time in a decade that Dean, who hails from neighbouring Wirral, has been picked to officiate either an Everton or Liverpool match.