JUST SIT BACK & ENJOY THE RIDE
Thrilling fans important as trophies says Klopp
JURGEN KLOPP believes life would be “s***” if everyone just worried about ending up as top dog.
The Liverpool boss claims fans should enjoy the ride along the way rather than focusing solely on winning trophies.
He insists he loves the challenge as he bids to land his first trophy with the Reds this season.
Ahead of tomorrow’s Premier League clash at Anfield, Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho insisted “trophies matter” in a dig at Klopp – who he says will be judged on what he wins at Liverpool.
But for the German, whose side lost the Champions League final last season, the journey is just as important as the destination.
Liverpool are currently top of the pile in the Premier League but haven’t been crowned champions since 1990.
Klopp said: “Do I have to win it? People might remember that but what I have to do is make the best of the things the club is offering me – that is what I believe in.
“If people say last season’s Champions League campaign was not a success because we didn’t win the final then I cannot change that.
“Is it a successful finish? No, but the ride was brilliant. I enjoyed it a lot. Going to the final was fantastic but in life – in all departments of life including your job – if only the best counts and effort doesn’t count then life is s***.
“You can do whatever you want but if I’m not as smart as Einstein or whatever, I can’t try a little bit because I will never be him.
Judge
“I love the challenge and I try to make the best of it. That is how I learn life and learned it a little bit in football. In the end other people have to judge that.”
Klopp is under no illusions that in his third full season at the club those outside Anfield believe the pressure is on to deliver trophies. He added: “The pressure is there and has always been there because we know that we have to deliver. We are not somebody, we are Liverpool.
“The pressure is from outside, where some people say that if I don’t win silverware then I have to leave.
“In the moment you find someone who can do the job better then you have to take him, that is how it is.
“As long as there is not, you have to trust the guy in the chair 100 per cent. That is it – it doesn’t work the other way around.
“We feel we are really the right combination 100 per cent – with the club, with all the people.”
Liverpool are still searching for their first league victory against United under Klopp as they look to stay ahead of Manchester City in the title race. But they have failed to score in their last three home games against the 20-time champions – with Mourinho in charge of United for the last two of those games.
The Old Trafford boss has not been bothered about bringing his side down the M62 and parking the bus to take a point, and they have had just two shots on target in their last two visits to Anfield.
His safety first approach has led to plenty of criticism of Mourinho considering the attacking talent that he has at his disposal.
Tactics
It is a stark contrast to the all-out attacking football often played by Klopp’s side.
But the Liverpool boss said: “I’m not the Pope of football tactics and tell people what they have to do. It is football tactics.
“It’s a bit like France (in the World Cup) – did they play exactly the football of the potential of the team? No.
“The players they had were unbelievable. Did they play bam, bam, bam like Spain? No. They went for the result and Didier Deschamps did everything right, perfect, brilliant.
“As a manager you have to do what you think is right and let other people judge it, or results give you the right response.”