Jurgen Klopp insists he won’t quit Liverpool amid the club’s downturn, but has hinted that change is needed.
Liverpool have endured a difficult start to the new year and are without a win in three games, with the Reds having dropped ten points behind the Champions League places after consecutive league defeats.
Klopp’s side will hope to turn around their fortunes against Wolves in the FA Cup this evening, having been fortunate to escape the first meeting with a replay.
Ahead of the clash, Klopp discussed his future and insisted he won’t quit Liverpool despite their downturn in performances this season. The German said he is loyal to the club and his players, but admitted there is a time when loyalties must be put aside.
“I am loyal, I think everyone should be loyal, but I am not too loyal,” the Liverpool manager said at his pre-match press conference.
“The problem is too complex. You have a good player who did a lot of good stuff in the past and then maybe, in your mind, you think: ‘That’s it for him now.’ If you can then go out and bring in another player to replace him then it makes sense from both sides to say: ‘Come on, it was a great time, see you later.’
“If you cannot bring anybody in then you cannot take anyone out, that’s the situation.”
Klopp compared the current situation at Liverpool to his former side Borussia Dortmund. Klopp departed Dortmund after a successful seven seasons in charge, following a disappointing final campaign at the Westfalenstadion.
The 55-year-old is in his seventh season at Liverpool and admits there are similarities in terms of the rebuild required. Klopp suggested that changes are needed at Anfield this summer, but says his current focus is on an immediate improvement in results.
“When I left Dortmund I said: ‘Something has to change here.’ It was a different situation there but in a way it’s similar – either I go, the manager position changes, or a lot of other things change. As far as I know, from what I hear, I will not go. So that means maybe there’s a point where we have to change other stuff. And we will see that. But it’s something for the future, like in the summer, but not now.
“We cannot even think about it right now. We have to play better football now. We cannot play and say: ‘These are problems but next season we don’t have them any more.’ That is really long away. Until then we stick together and we fight. If we lose, we lose, but in a way that we can accept and not: ‘How could that happen?’
“I said Brighton were exceptional but in some moments it was too easy for them. That is why I would like to go through to see them again [in the FA Cup fourth round] and make it more difficult.”
