Bristling Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp insists it is UNFAIR to question the Reds’ current poor form
‘Judge me at the end of the season’: Bristling Jurgen Klopp insists it is UNFAIR to question Liverpool’s form – despite consecutive league defeats – as he hits back at critics of their ‘fighting spirit’
- Jurgen Klopp insists Liverpool should not be judged until the end of the season
- They have been criticised for poor form which has left them ninth in the league
- But manager Klopp claims you should only make full conclusions next summer
- The German bristled when asked if the Reds had shown a lack of fighting spirit
Jurgen Klopp has claimed it is not fair to criticise his Liverpool side’s struggles until the end of the season.
The Reds’ latest defeat, a late 2-1 loss against relegation contenders Leeds at Anfield on Sunday, leaves the Reds as low as ninth in the Premier League.
And ahead of their clash with Napoli in the Champions League on Tuesday night, Klopp insisted he and the club should only be judged at the campaign’s conclusion next summer – before hitting back at accusations of a lack of ‘fight’.
Manager Jurgen Klopp insists it’s unfair to judge Liverpool fully until the end of the season
The Reds are languishing in ninth in the Premier League after Saturday’s loss against Leeds
He said: ‘We all do our job in public, the judgement of this is maybe later on in the season. At the end of it.
‘At the moment it’s not 100% fair to judge the team because we haven’t had them available, missing up front top quality. We’d usually make changes.
‘Even if it’s unfair, it’s fine. It’s normal to ask these questions. Arsenal and Man City will have to answer those questions later on. We are all out there to be judged, manager, players, that’s how it is. But I don’t think about it.’
And the German bristled when asked if his side had shown a lack of fighting spirit, asking a journalist which game he meant when told the players’ ‘fight’ was not there at points.
When told it was missing in a 1-0 loss against the league’s bottom side Nottingham Forest two weeks ago, Klopp angrily claimed it has always been there.
Klopp was speaking ahead of the Reds’ Champions League clash with Napoli on Tuesday night
The German boss has been a fractious presence on the touchline at points in this campaign
He added: ‘We expect more, I expect more from the boys, we just have to get there with steps. That’s the challenge in the moment. We need to avoid the mistakes and keep the good stuff in. It was never a quick fix. We won’t stop fighting.
‘My job isn’t just to be here when the sun is shining, but when we have to go through a really rough period. I will do that with all I have and if possible even more than 100%… I don’t want to see back-heels, bicycle kicks. We just have to fight, but Napoli will too.
‘To say we didn’t fight against Forest isn’t right. We lost the game, it’s not that we didn’t try hard enough. We conceded a completely unnecessary goal and could have played better, yes, but the boys had fight. The fight is there. Fighting spirit is not our problem.’
In Europe, even a win against in-form Napoli on Tuesday may not be enough to top their group, with a four-goal margin needed to overtake Luciano Spalletti’s Italian side.
Finishing second means they could face a group winner like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, Paris Saint-Germain or Manchester City and a tougher prospect of reaching the quarter-finals.