James Milner
Jurgen Klopp’s ‘rocket’ messages to players on the training field are a key reason for Liverpool’s consistency and success, according to veteran James Milner. When asked about Liverpool’s consistency over the season, Milner identified Klopp as the key driver behind Liverpool’s recent success and opened up on some of the German coach’s training methods.
James Milner said ” Jurgen Klopp is the leader of the ship and he has turned us into a fantastic team and he never lets us rest, We have to keep pushing and improving. If there is one day in training when it is not right you get a rocket and it is not good enough. But the boys are very good at that as well. The manager sets that tone and the boys are good at marshalling it. If someone misses a day in the gym or they are late for something or not pulling their weight they get pulled up on it.That is important as well but it starts with the manager. (On recent blip) You don’t go through a season without not playing well, It happens to everyone. It’s the same in every sport. No sportsman can go a four-year cycle to the Olympics and be at the top. They try to peak. It’s the same with football. You are top level all the time. There is always going to be a spell and it is how you deal with it, while still getting results. Unfortunately, we haven’t been able to get the results in the last few games. But we are trying our hardest to bounce back and get the performances we know we are capable of.”
The Reds need only six points to confirm their first Premier League title, with the possibility they could clinch the honour without kicking a ball domestically as second-placed Manchester City play twice first before Klopp’s team take to the field.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp shrugged off comparisons with former Anfield great Bill Shankly on Saturday after his side beat Bournemouth 2-1 to move a step closer to sealing their first league title for 30 years. Goals by Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane cancelled out an early Bournemouth opener from Callum Wilson as Liverpool clocked up a 22nd consecutive home win in the top flight, breaking a record set by Shankly’s men in 1972.
Jurgen Klopp said ” Oh yes, I will never compare with this fella. Great, I think it was 23 [consecutive home wins] today. We didn’t think about the number before the game, but after the game we can think about it for a couple of minutes. It’s nice. It’s absolutely nice. It’s special, not normal.Today is an example: we have to fight hard. We are not geniuses, but we can really fight until the end of the season, and then we’ll see what we get for it.”
Klopp also said that his and the team’s focus was on next week’s Champions League second leg against Atletico Madrid, however, when they must overturn a 1-0 deficit to reach the quarter-finals and not on the remaining three wins (now two) needed to win the premier league.
Stand-in goalkeeper Adrian felt that Liverpool’s come from behind win over Bournemouth is a sign that the team has got its winning mentality back and also talked about “that” James Milner goal-line clearance.
Adrian said “It was a tough game after a few bad results. The confidence of everyone was a bit down but I think today we showed the winning mentality is back, the team came back after the early goal from Bournemouth. We showed again that we are here to face the end of the season and face the big challenges that are coming and the three points was the most important thing today, and we got them. It was great (Milner’s cleanace). I needed to go out to try to block the shot and he [Ryan Fraser] got the ball behind me, and he starts running to defend the goal. I saw the moment he was running and thought ‘Yes Millie, you can do it!’ and he did it! He’s a top player, he has a lot of experience so he knows the opportunity could come and he was ready to defend the goal.
After a howler against Chelsea where Adrian’s mistake allowed Chelsea to take the lead this win would give him a huge confidence boost where he would be expected to start as Allisson is likely to miss out that clash as well.
Jurgen Klopp took aim at VAR – and admitted he regretted celebrating towards the linesman after a controversial opener in Liverpool’s 2-1 win over Bournemouth. Liverpool fell behind to Callum Wilson’s ninth-minute opener at Anfield but was incensed the goal was allowed to stand even after a VAR review for what appeared a blatant push on Joe Gomez in the build-up.
Jurgen Klopp said “I was in good spirits, let me say it like this. To be honest, that happened [the celebration]. I didn’t want it, do I want to do it now? No. But in that moment, I just don’t understand how it could be a goal. There’s situations, we talk about it, but we have to make the decision. It shows the problems in VAR still existing. It’s not VAR, the system, it’s a human being and the rules. It was a foul. The touch was enough to let Joe struggle, it’s a foul, nothing else. They score a goal, the ref lets it run, that’s why we have VAR so you can have another look. A couple of weeks ago VAR made really tough decisions on one matchday, two different games, Tottenham and City, right, wow. How is that possible that someone sits there and doesn’t see it? The question is how is it possible you have a look at it and don’t say, ‘ah yes, that’s a foul’. Mike Dean [fourth official] I’m sure sees it’s a foul but cannot intervene any more so he says let’s go to VAR, and it hides behind the phrase ‘not clear and obvious’. It makes no sense, a foul is a foul, no foul is no foul, but if it’s that clear, you look at it and say come on.”
