Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool still have ‘fighting spirit’ but says there is ‘no quick fix’ to his side’s issues this season.
Liverpool have endured a difficult start to the campaign and suffered a second successive Premier League loss at the weekend, with the Reds beaten at home to Leeds.
The defeat leaves Liverpool ninth in the Premier League table, closer to the relegation places than the division’s top four.
After missing out on the title on the final day last season, it has been a stark decline with the club having struggled for results. Ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League meeting with Napoli, Klopp insisted that his team will not stop fighting as the Reds look to turn around their fortunes.
“We do this job in public and the judgement for this will be later on in the season, or even at the end,” he told the media at his pre-match press conference.
“Whatever questions will be asked then but you can’t 100% judge the squad and this team.
“We can’t make changes upfront, we’ve had the same situation in midfield for a long time now. We’ve had it everywhere.
“We are all out there to be judged that’s fine, that includes the managers and players, that’s how it is in professional football. We can’t change anything, you have to go through it. There’s been highs and lows.
“We expect more and I expect more but we have to make sure we get there with steps.
“You have to work on that. That’s the challenge at the moment. Avoiding mistakes and keeping the good stuff in.
“We will not stop fighting. My job is not only about being here in the moment when the sun is shinning and we have trophies. I will give all that I have.”
Klopp said that his focus is on solely the next game as group leaders Napoli arrive at Anfield and warned that there is no quick fix to his team’s problems this season.
“The situation now is not a quick fix. Consistency and stability is our issue,” he said. “There are highs and there are obviously too many lows, that is clear.
🗣️ “Stability is our issue.”
Jürgen Klopp says his sides lack of consistency this season has been the biggest problem for them. pic.twitter.com/w64AtKQm3I
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) October 31, 2022
“We cannot think about what happens in a few months. It’s the next game and the next game.
“Nobody will come here and say Liverpool are in a difficult moment, let’s give them an easy run. It’s the opposite, they can smell the opportunity.
“There is always the chance to win the next game. There is always the chance to put things right. That is what we are working on.
“We have to fight, the problem is Napoli will fight as well.”
Klopp spoke further on his side’s struggles and denied that Liverpool have not fought hard enough to earn results this season.
“The fight is there. The fighting spirit is not our problem,” he added.
“This group in that aspect did not change and will not change.
“But all of a sudden [after some bad results], people think you are not trying hard enough. that’s the life we live. It’s normal”
