Klopp: I do not need a break
Henderson wants team to draw strength from adversity Klopp gives reassurance that he is fine and ‘full of energy’
Jurgen Klopp insisted his appetite to lead Liverpool through a troubling spell remained as strong as ever as he ruled out taking a break.
False rumours that the German coach was planning a sabbatical swept social media in the aftermath of the club’s 3-1 Premier League defeat against Leicester City on Saturday.
One leading bookmaker even made Klopp favourite to be the next managerial departure yesterday morning.
It has been a difficult spell for Klopp on and off the pitch, especially in the past few weeks. In midjanuary, he suffered the loss of his mother, Elisabeth.
He had been working through that grief for several weeks before the news was made public and yesterday spoke for the first time about how he had been able to separate his
Liverpool’s Champions League last16 tie against RB Leipzig can offer them some respite from their troubled domestic campaign, with captain Jordan Henderson believing his side can draw strength from their failing Premier League title defence to get back to more familiar ways.
Liverpool’s run of poor results has led manager Jurgen Klopp to concede their grip on the trophy after just 24 games, with the top four now the clear priority.
Success in Europe remains a very real ambition for a side who won the Champions League two seasons ago, with Klopp and Henderson aware that only positive results can reset the agenda.
“As players, it is down to us to change the situation we are in,” said Henderson, calling on the rest of the side to use the two-leg tie with the Bundesliga outfit – which begins tonight at Budapest’s Puskas Arena, due to German quarantine restrictions – to reignite their campaign.
“It is down to us to go out there and keep fighting. We set standards for a long period, so to then lose a few games is not normal for us.
“It is something we need to adapt to, but I feel the lads give everything every time we train and every time we play. Once we do come out of it, hopefully sooner than later, we will be a lot stronger. Strength comes from adversity at times.”
The contradiction at the heart of Liverpool’s recent run is that, despite results, Klopp believes the performances have been reasonably good. He says only the home defeat by Brighton was a fair reflection of their opponents’ superiority, and that the most recent losses to topfour rivals were self-inflicted.
“Nobody is ignoring the facts result-wise, but the games against Leicester and City were not ones you would imagine we concede seven and score two,” Klopp said prior to the flight to Hungary for Leipzig’s “home” leg.
“We made individual mistakes. The mood is absolutely OK and we are still ready for a proper fight. A football team is like building a house. If something is not right, the wind comes straight through it. But we are Liverpool and nobody is happy with being fourth and level on points with Everton.”
The run of poor form has also created the fertile ground for mischievous, occasionally intrusive gossip but for those studying the mood and body language of Klopp at his press conference yesterday, he offered instant reassurance. The manager had not yet answered a question when he took a swig of green tea from a mug inscribed with the “Normal One” logo he made famous.
Unintended or otherwise, the “business as usual” message, amid scurrilous rumour about his future, reflected the tone of what followed as he vowed to fight through the club’s struggles.
“I am OK,” Klopp said. “I don’t need a break. I am full of energy.”
Such words will have relieved those Liverpool supporters who felt concerned enough about their manager’s emotional well-being – after recent events on and off the pitch – that they erected a banner of support outside the Kop on Sunday.
While Klopp said that was unnecessary, it is an indication of how much social media has penetrated the mainstream that Liverpool’s manager and captain sought to silence the online whispers of managerial and dressing-room strife.
The previous 72 hours had been awash with malicious internet claims, the most prominent of which was Klopp was so drained he was to take a sabbatical. Those murmurs began shortly after the Leicester defeat on Saturday, when he seemed emotional as he agreed in his postmatch interview that Liverpool’s title defence was effectively over.
Amateur body language experts suggested Klopp was showing the strain of continuing to work despite the sad passing of his mother, Elisabeth, and his inability to return to Germany for her funeral. But the manager and those close to him say any such diagnosis is misplaced.