Jurgen Klopp admits he feels “massively responsible” for Liverpool’s poor run as he called on his players to become more clinical. And the Reds boss has vowed he and his team will do everything they can to turn their season around. Klopp says the atmosphere at the AXA Training Centre is still a positive one – even if there are few laughs being shared during one of the toughest periods of his tenure. But the German believes his players will be able to use this experience going forward as he made a promise to work harder than ever to change the circumstances.
Jurgen Klopp said: “It is always difficult in this situation rather than the other way around. So it’s clear that winning game after game after game is nicer. But it is a different time a different season for us for plenty of different reasons, and we have to fight through this – but there is no doubt we will do that. And maybe the important message even in this moment we are still Liverpool and that is what we feel. Yes, we are Liverpool when we win 20 games in a row or whatever and don’t lose, and not when we lose matches? No, we are still Liverpool, and that is what I live, what I love and what I know, and that of course gives me energy. So I am not here only for the big celebrations, no I am here for the work. And if it is the dirty work, the hard work, no problem. It is all fine – I said plenty of times I feel massively responsible, and I am massively responsible for the situation we are in, and a big part of it. Some parts not, we have no influence on that, but it means now I have to make good decisions, better decisions if necessary. And on the pitch we have to be more clinical, that is clear as well, and we work on that.”
Jurgen Klopp added: “The atmosphere is really good every morning when you come in, but it’s not like the boys are making massive jokes first thing and everybody is laughing like crazy. It’s not like this. The atmosphere is about trust – it is that we trust each other, that we like each other, that we respect each other. That we do these kind of things and we create a situation that we always find a way for ourselves to become all of us positive again for the next game, optimistic about the next game. So yes, going into the game that is a massive challenge, and that is exactly what we do – what we do together. We will try everything this season, but however, there are so many things we can learn from it – about people, other people, about, I don’t know, I don’t read what you write, but maybe about journalism? We can really learn a lot of things about what we did right even when the whole world thought it was wrong, and what we did wrong, even when people didn’t realise it and these kind of things. And while we are doing that, we go through this [tough period]. But our football lives – our career – doesn’t end after this season. So what we go through now, we have to sort problems now, immediately, and in the long term we can get the benefit of what we are going through in the moment, that is clear. But that is not for this moment. In the moment, it is not that difficult to create an atmosphere, I don’t go and put the finger on my players and blame them for the situation – I don’t do that. We are all responsible for it, I am mainly responsible for it, so still I can get up in the morning and can find some things about the day and about the things that we do over the day, about the training sessions and all this these things. I can do that and everybody can do that, so that’s it. It’s not cool, but I say again, there are much worse things out there, than the situation we are in as a football club.”
