Klopp on Liverpool injuries and Luton
Klopp on Liverpool injuries and Luton
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00:00 The three boys?
00:06 Yeah, OK, not great, definitely not.
00:10 We would like to sit here and say we have absolutely no issues,
00:13 but obviously we have some.
00:16 So, not available, obviously, Ali, that muscle injury,
00:22 we don't know exactly how long it takes, but definitely not.
00:26 We will see in the foreseeable time, coming back.
00:30 Then we have Diogo with a knee issue, it's ruled out.
00:37 Curtis with a bone ligament issue, ruled out.
00:43 And then we have the others, where we actually think we will deal with it day by day,
00:52 with Marcel Sainz, we will see.
00:56 For tomorrow you see the line-up early enough,
00:59 and you can see who made it and who didn't make it.
01:03 And that's it pretty much, so in the longer term,
01:09 Trent and Dom are on the way back, but not in team training yet,
01:16 so that means they are not available as well.
01:20 Yeah, that's the situation, let me say it like that.
01:24 But what I said after the game, as long as we have 11 players we will go for it,
01:30 and that's exactly the idea.
01:32 It takes with the boys day by day, and with the games definitely game by game.
01:36 Tomorrow night is an incredibly important game for us,
01:40 against a really good side, I'm not sure you will ask about Luton,
01:43 so that's why I started talking about them.
01:45 Rob, the job he's doing there is insane, I'm not sure it's really respected enough,
01:53 that a team with the amount of points they had at the beginning of the season,
01:58 making such a footballing development, I'm not sure I saw that before,
02:02 when you saw the Man United game, it was an incredible game of Luton,
02:05 yes, they lost it, but it was an incredible game.
02:08 They increased possession periods during the season in a really crazy way,
02:14 good players, obviously top, top coached, and it will be a tough one.
02:19 So we need Anfield, 100 per cent, it must be a European night in England.
02:24 That's it.
02:28 I know it's sometimes hard to talk about timescales for the players coming back,
02:32 but with Curtis and Diogo is there a danger that they become more like months
02:36 rather than weeks, or too early to take with them?
02:42 Yeah, with Diogo it will obviously take a while, with Curtis...
02:47 It's with injuries as well, you have important days, day 5, day 10,
02:53 they are always important days when you judge the situation again,
02:57 because it depends on how nobody reacts in the same way,
03:00 and it depends on the pain level they still have and stuff like this,
03:04 so I couldn't say, I couldn't give you a time frame, even if I want to.
03:09 So that's just how it is, and when you don't have these players available,
03:15 it makes no sense as well to say, "OK, they will not be in before."
03:19 So, like I said, they all react to different issues,
03:23 and that's what we want to take this time.
03:26 To bring it to a positive, you've got this crop of young players
03:29 who time and time again have stepped in and delivered,
03:32 how much does that comfort you that you've got these guys who know how to come in
03:36 and do the job under pressure at times?
03:39 Yeah, we are where we are because of them, that's how it is,
03:43 because the boys really delivered.
03:45 And we'll see how many of them we will have to use,
03:49 and we'll give the opportunity, because in a good moment they all can be in,
03:53 that's how it is, and we still have options there, definitely,
03:59 players who showed already what they can do, like James or Bobby,
04:05 and others who didn't feature yet, but in and around that,
04:10 Koumas, Dansey, they are all massive talents,
04:14 Trey, they are all massive talents, so we will see what we'll do.
04:19 But now we are just planning for tomorrow, and from there we go.
04:25 Hi, Jürgen, can I just get your reaction to Roy Hodgson standing down
04:30 after almost 50 years as a manager?
04:33 Oh, Roy. I think I said a couple of times I don't really understand
04:38 why he's still doing the job, so now with my situation you'll probably understand
04:42 even better why I don't understand what he's doing.
04:45 One of the greatest I've ever met, definitely, for that long time in the business.
04:50 A human, full of experience, Trent said in the beginning, kept his idea.
04:59 It's always like this, when it's not going well, that's the problem in our business,
05:05 then people forget a little bit how good the times were before.
05:11 I think Christian Peris could be like that if there were some supporters
05:15 who were shouting for him to get the sack,
05:18 and he definitely forgot how good a job he did a few times when he was there.
05:23 I hope he's doing well, because that was obviously a shocker last week,
05:29 when I heard about him taking a training, that's nothing that should happen at all.
05:36 I hope he's doing well, and when he's doing well I wish him the very best of times
05:43 that he can have, and stay healthy, that would be the most important.
05:48 It's a bit of a shame that I couldn't say goodbye to him properly,
05:53 because we faced each other quite frequently and like each other a lot,
05:57 but, yeah, that's not the biggest problem.
06:00 You faced a team who were expert set-pieces at the weekend against Brentford,
06:05 and they're probably going to do that again tomorrow night,
06:08 is that something you will be focusing on?
06:11 We always do. There's no team in the Premier League
06:16 who doesn't deserve the respect around their offensive set-pieces,
06:19 because situations get completely different in England,
06:23 I'm long enough here to know that, but it is like this,
06:26 it's a completely different charge than England, like they are in other countries,
06:29 the six-yard box is just another area where everybody can act pretty...
06:35 active, I would say, around the goalkeeper,
06:40 so we have to be really spot-on in these moments.
06:43 I saw the game against United, saw cuts of other games as well,
06:47 so set-pieces are one strength, but I have to say,
06:53 the way they play their system, the confidence level,
06:58 because they are in a good moment, if you go through the results in the last few weeks,
07:03 it's incredibly incredible, and in the end it's still only 20 points if I'm right,
07:07 but in the games they lost they were really in the game.
07:11 They experienced the tough game there, but that was a completely different game
07:15 to how they act now, that time they were rather passive,
07:18 deep defending, counter-attacking, they have that still,
07:21 but now in possession they found obviously a structure
07:25 where everybody feels really comfortable.
07:29 I think Ross Barkley is one of these nice stories, if you want,
07:33 who really is back to his best or better,
07:39 plays a deeper role, super-disciplined on the ball, incredibly strong.
07:46 Lukaka, when you see him playing and you think, "Oh, is Arsenal playing?"
07:52 They loaned him! Interesting!
07:55 So really strong, their experience and all these things,
07:59 and again, they are really together, I think,
08:06 the situation at Bournemouth a few weeks ago or months ago with the captain
08:13 is something which brought them even closer together
08:17 and showed them there are worse things in life than maybe getting relegated,
08:22 so fight for the chance you have, and that's how they show up.
08:26 I respect that a lot, not just because of our situation,
08:31 maybe we will see how the line-up will look, but in general they deserve respect,
08:38 and we have to show that with a proper Liverpool performance,
08:42 and by Liverpool performance I mean really everybody who enters the gate to Anfield
08:49 has to be on their toes tomorrow night, because they are really good.
08:59 You spent a lot of the season asking about Alexis McAster playing the six-man role,
09:04 but with Endo back and the midfield situation,
09:07 you're probably going to see him more in his natural position,
09:10 how that changes things, and for him as well, playing in a more natural position.
09:16 I don't know where that comes from, what is a natural position for a player,
09:24 and footballers especially nowadays can play different positions,
09:29 I have no doubt about it. I had to learn that over the years as well,
09:32 and I don't mean me playing or me coaching, that you can use the boys,
09:36 that you have to get rid of these clear structures, who is where,
09:42 an attacker has to defend and a defender has to attack, that's the easiest way to put it.
09:49 And Alexis is just incredibly important for us, he always was, since he's here,
09:54 and that he can play different positions, that he has the tactical brain to do that,
10:02 that shows and says everything about him as a player,
10:06 because I don't think he is really bothered about it,
10:09 I'm not sure we ever heard anything about that, that he said,
10:12 "I would prefer to play a bit higher," stuff like this.
10:15 He is a very strict player in these moments, they have the ball, we all have to defend,
10:20 we have the ball, we all have to attack.
10:23 That's as easy as it is, and who is not directly involved has to protect.
10:27 So that's how we understand football, and Alexis is a key part in that.
10:34 Ask me or him in five years again what his natural position is,
10:40 maybe you will be surprised.
10:42 Any more from the makers?
10:44 Jürgen, it's quite remarkable in a season that hasn't been a single game
10:48 where every member of the first-team squad has been available,
10:51 at least one player has been unavailable at some point.
10:54 You talked last week about the flexibility of the group as a whole,
10:58 how flexible do you have to be this season,
11:00 and adaptability in terms of the squad selection being different on a weekly basis?
11:10 We always, I always had to be flexible, always.
11:15 And it's not a real problem, to be honest, as long as there are enough players available,
11:19 you use the boys, you know them, you know what they can do.
11:23 We actually didn't see it like that, to be honest.
11:31 In the moment when we had the problems with both left-backs,
11:36 natural left-backs out, stuff like this, you find a solution,
11:40 and the solution worked out brilliantly.
11:43 You don't have the sixes you would see before the season,
11:47 who can play there, not available, how can you sort that?
11:51 So that's actually the job to do, as long as it's not an hour before the game,
11:56 because then it becomes really tricky,
11:58 because that's then only a little talk and hope.
12:01 As long as you have a session at least, then it's fine,
12:06 because these boys are all really good on the ball,
12:09 and have to be good against the ball,
12:13 and that changed only slightly, probably in different moments.
12:18 Yes, we had to be flexible, but that was rather good fun than a problem, to be honest.
12:23 The thing is...
12:27 Look, we have now a situation where we don't...
12:30 How I said it would be better, I would just say, "No injuries, all fine."
12:33 And then we talk about the luxury problem of who will start and stuff like this,
12:36 we didn't have that a lot, that's true.
12:39 But in the moment it just got the news, so you just deal with it,
12:42 and you go from there, there's no excuses,
12:45 and we will try everything, we said it before,
12:48 there are 5,000 different ways to win a football game, we only have to find one.
12:52 And that should always be possible, especially at home,
12:58 where we can, if we all are ready, generate a dynamic where people...
13:05 I'm not sure if I should say that, can grow above themselves.
13:10 It's just that you really become the best version of yourself,
13:15 and who cares then about the number on your back or the position you play?
13:19 It's actually not really important, it's just what can you contribute
13:23 and what can you bring to the team, and that's what I think we all...
13:28 If you didn't know it before, we all learned it this year, 100 per cent,
13:32 and the boys like that as well, they like the different...
13:36 ...approaches, let me say it like that,
13:41 always based on the situation we have as a team,
13:45 and that's what we will keep trying.
13:47 Just one more on Kodiak, you had 10 goals for the season,
13:51 the fourth player to do that this season scored 10 goals for the club,
13:55 has it gone under the radar how good a season he's having,
13:58 10 goals in all competitions so far?
14:01 The numbers are 100 per cent absolutely all right, or even better,
14:06 but Kodi had a bit of a struggle in between the seasons,
14:11 this was more my fault, and a bit of the situation we spoke about,
14:17 can Kodi play a midfield position for us? Yes, he can, in different moments.
14:21 Is it his position now? I would say no, that's not,
14:24 but the offensive part of that role he can definitely play,
14:27 but with the defensive things, which he was not used to,
14:31 that cost him a bit of confidence, in moments you could see that,
14:35 just the boy who came here and was flying from day one pretty much,
14:38 and then all of a sudden you saw, "OK, that's not exactly the same now."
14:41 So these kind of things happen, will help him in the long term anyway,
14:44 but in the short term it's not always directly...
14:47 You cannot directly see it, but now he's actually there,
14:52 and as long as we can avoid that we probably will not bring him in midfield.
14:58 And then it's very offensive, which is again, Manhattan is positive,
15:02 but it was not under radar.
15:05 If you would ask Kodi he wouldn't say it's the best season of his life,
15:10 but we all know how good a player he is, and he's always a threat,
15:15 and he can be a threat in the air, he is on the ground,
15:19 really good, has a super finish, good nose for a finishing situation,
15:25 good dribble, can keep the ball for us, plenty of super things we can use and we need.
15:31 Yeah, that's it pretty much.
15:34 Thanks a lot, Fabricio.
15:36 Thank you.
15:38 See you.
15:40 (water splashing)
15:43 (audience applauding)