Jurgen Klopp insists ‘I don’t need a break’ as he dismisses burnout fears after death of his mother and Liverpool’s dismal slump – and boss tells fans ‘nobody has to worry about me… we will sort it’
- Liverpool have lost their last three Premier League games in dent to title bid
- They resume their Champions League campaign against RB Leipzig on Tuesday
- Manager Jurgen Klopp was installed as favourite in the manager sack race
- It’s been a difficult time for the German after the death of his mother Elisabeth
- But Klopp insists he is ‘full of energy’ and determined to rescue their season
- He dismissed any fears of burnout and vowed to build on positives in defeat
Jurgen Klopp has emphatically put to bed rumours he was ready to quit Liverpool by insisting he does not need a break.
A frenzy on social media followed Liverpool’s 3-1 defeat to Leicester on Saturday, with allegations that Klopp was going to end his five-year stay at the club.
It stemmed from his reaction to a question in a press conference in which he conceded the Premier League title for the season.
Jurgen Klopp says he is ‘full of energy’ and determined to sort out Liverpool’s recent problems as they prepare to face RB Leipzig in the Champions League last-16
A new large banner showing support appeared outside Anfield reading: ‘Jurgen Klopp YNWA’
Liverpool lost 3-1 at Leicester City on Saturday, their third consecutive league defeat
Liverpool supporters were swift to show their backing for Klopp on Sunday with a huge banner bearing his name and the letters YNWA being draped from railings behind The Kop.
The manager, however, reassured them that ideas he was leaving was nothing further from the truth.
Klopp is grieving the loss of his mother, Elisabeth, but he insisted that family trauma has had no bearing on his appetite for the job of reversing Liverpool’s poor form and during a four-minute answer – that spanned more than 500 words – to a question about the weekend, the German allayed any concerns.
‘So I heard about both,’ said Klopp, whose side travel to Hungary today for tomorrow’s Champions League clash with RB Leipzig. ‘The banner is nice, obviously, but not necessary. I don’t think I need special support in the minute but it’s nice.
‘What were the rumours again? Did I get the sack or did I leave by myself. Oh. Neither nor. I don’t need a break. Look, the last thing I want to do is talk about private things in a press conference.
‘But everyone knows that we have been through an absolutely tough time but that was three weeks ago. It was a much longer time already.
‘We always deal with it as a family, 100 per cent. When I came here to the football club, to work… I’m 53. I have been in football 30 years. I have been a coach for 20. I can split things.
Klopp’s mother Elisabeth passed away last month at the age of 81 with the Liverpool manager unable to attend her funeral in Germany because of Covid-19 travel restrictions
Klopp looks frustrated on the sidelines as Liverpool went down 3-1 to Leicester on Saturday
‘I can switch off, one thing from another thing. I do not carry things around. If I am private, I’m private. If it is football and it is the work place, I am here.
‘I’m not influenced by things that are happening around me but nobody needs to worry about me. I might not look like this – because the weather is not cool, I’m white and the beard gets more and more grey.
‘All these kind of things. Yes, I don’t sleep a lot and my eyes look like this but it’s all fine.
‘I’m full of energy – honestly. The situation is here. I don’t want to have the situation but the situation is an interesting challenge. Nobody wrote a book about how you came into a situation like this and how did you solve it. But we will sort it. Please, while we are doing it, it could be tricky.
‘But sorting it by playing football, sorting it by staying even more together. Sorting it by fighting with all you have, sorting it by learning more than you have learned in each season before. Yeah, that’s the plan we have.’
Klopp is committed to turning things around by playing in the way Liverpool have done all through his time at the club and he will not sacrifice his principles just to get a win. He is also adamant that worried fans should not be investing their emotions in his well-being.
‘We have learned a lot,’ said Klopp. ‘Ok, I understand that a lot of people are not happy with results. I get that. I am responsible for it. But we still played some pretty good stuff.
‘You can forget that but we cannot because that is the start of change things. If you change a situation like we are in with bad football? I’ve never heard of that.
‘You need results but we are Liverpool. We cannot wait until 60 minutes before we go over the halfway line. We have to be dominant. And we will do that. I am ready. The boys are ready. We will give our absolute everything to sort it.
‘Thanks for all the support. I don’t really see it but people tell me about it. I’m very grateful about it but people can worry about other things. They don’t have to worry about me.’
