Liverpool assistant Pep Lijnders on EFL Cup final with Chelsea and injuries to key players
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00:00 Morning.
00:01 - You OK? - Always good.
00:07 Good.
00:08 Yeah, sure. Pep, how do you want to do this with regard to team news?
00:15 Who's fit, who's available, is there any positive news for you?
00:19 I think the good thing we always did in the past is that we look to what we have.
00:24 To start with that, because it's also good in life to just accept what you have
00:30 and don't look at what you don't have, so that's what we're trying to do.
00:34 It brought us success in the past, so we try to keep that up,
00:41 and I feel really happy with that, because Cruyff said a long time ago -
00:47 I'm not even sure if it was Cruyff, but in Holland you say every disadvantage has its advantage -
00:51 so with a few injuries you get young players.
00:56 You cannot have everything in the world, not at the same time at least,
00:59 so you get young players, you get players who didn't play five games in a row
01:04 but they can show up now, so that's really cool.
01:07 This season is a season where we created three or four new teams in one season,
01:14 which didn't happen a lot in the last year, so it's cool.
01:19 It's a compliment for our squad, it's a compliment for the academy.
01:23 And now you want to hear the injuries, no?
01:26 They can't tell us who's available.
01:28 Dom, Darwin and Mo, we have to really see.
01:32 We have two more days, so today's session and tomorrow's session,
01:36 and then at the last minute we will check if they can be there.
01:42 It would be great, to be honest.
01:45 And then all the others, I think Jürgen spoke, Ali, a muscle injury,
01:51 after international break it will take time, Curtis, Moses,
01:55 that's like high ankle sprain,
01:59 he will be in and around international break,
02:05 Trent, lateral ligament, he will be after international break,
02:12 Jord, medium ligament, he will be after international break.
02:19 After international break means we're not sure.
02:22 Obviously, looking at the form at the moment,
02:27 it's one defeat in 15 in all competitions,
02:30 and that was against Arsenal, but only four weeks after you beat them in the FA Cup,
02:34 I just wonder what you draw from that experience,
02:36 given it was only a few weeks ago that you were knocking four past Chelsea,
02:40 and obviously now you've got to face them.
02:43 Yeah, but Chelsea, I think a good final only starts
02:49 with really respecting and acknowledging their strength,
02:52 and where to start?
02:55 Kayseri or Enzo in the middle, really making the game,
02:59 Enzo is the one, if you let him free he can play passes everywhere.
03:03 I think the instability in the beginning of the season,
03:06 a lot happened there, a lot, so how can you expect them to perform straight away?
03:12 They are growing, I think the manager is doing an unbelievable job,
03:15 the coaching staff as well, both of it,
03:19 and I think he finally finds his 11,
03:22 and then you have one of the best signings this year in the Premier League,
03:26 it's Palma, taking him from a rival, a young player, and performing like that.
03:32 And then you have Gallagher, of course, who is a proper number 10 from the academy,
03:38 wearing the armour, and a proper leader, I think.
03:43 But he is somebody who is a 10, but gets his shirt dirty as well.
03:49 If you let them play and let the players fight between the lines,
03:54 with Palma and Gallagher there, who have a lot of technique,
03:57 that will be really hard, Enzo dropping.
04:01 What I'm trying to say is that the speed as well,
04:05 they are up front when they play out of our counter-press,
04:09 so we will need our full toolbox to defend them.
04:13 A good game, that's why I want to start,
04:15 a good game, a final, always starts with respecting the strength of the opposition
04:19 and defend it with all we have.
04:22 That's what we're going to prepare, with only one target,
04:25 that's giving joy and emotions to the fans.
04:29 If you want to describe our football philosophy,
04:35 Jürgen and me and the club, it's to give joy and emotions to the fans.
04:41 I'm really happy that we can give at least a final to start with,
04:45 and that's what you're asking for in the beginning of the season.
04:49 So is success having already got to a final,
04:54 or is it only success if you go on and win it?
04:57 I think success is growing.
04:59 I always believe that the team that grows more in a season will be the successful team,
05:03 so we focus on developing this team, we focus on bringing young players,
05:09 we focus on even the older ones to make them better,
05:13 with video, with training sessions, with meetings, with emotion, with passion.
05:19 And then success, I think, is the logical result of that.
05:23 So you have to focus on the result, because you play against good teams.
05:26 We looted it in the first half.
05:28 But Liverpool Football Club is made for major trophies,
05:36 and each year we should fight for them, that should always be the target.
05:40 That's what we're going to try to do.
05:45 Pep, what would it mean to this team to actually lift this first trophy of the season?
05:53 Liverpool have got a fabulous record in the League Cup and its many guys,
05:57 but to this new Liverpool 2.0 that's come together so quickly,
06:03 how could it enable even more progress,
06:06 build momentum between now and the end of the season if you are successful?
06:10 Yeah, 95 minutes against a really good opponent,
06:14 an opponent who last week drew against City in a really special game, I think.
06:22 Yeah, but it helps, of course.
06:24 The most important thing is the way we're going to play there.
06:29 For me, that's the main thing.
06:32 If we can play the second half against Luton,
06:35 if we can play, what you just said, 14 or 15 games,
06:39 with the style we're going into that game,
06:41 if these young boys can show...
06:45 ...passion, if they can show their personality,
06:50 if we can really show our personality there,
06:53 then that's for me already a good thing.
06:56 And then the end result, you don't know.
06:59 A lot can happen. We played finals where we lost,
07:02 where we played really, really well,
07:04 and we played finals where it was really even.
07:06 Say Chelsea against Tuchel, where five goals got cancelled in one game.
07:12 We're always close with them, always.
07:15 We were always close with them, 11 penalties.
07:18 But, yeah, special games need special performances,
07:23 so we have to focus on the performance,
07:25 and special performances need that we lift the stadium,
07:28 we need the fans, they need to...
07:31 Yeah, we go for it.
07:36 You've already hinted at the 'every cloud has a silver lining' aspect
07:41 of key players and so many players being ruled out because of injury.
07:47 But what we saw in the second half in particular,
07:51 on Wednesday night against Luton,
07:54 how much can it help not just the very young players,
07:58 but the players that are in and around the team,
08:01 but not playing as regularly as they'd like?
08:04 How much can being involved in a game like this and playing a key part,
08:09 how much can that aid their progress?
08:11 Yeah, you're completely right, you're on the sports side.
08:15 That's why I like Luton, because you go half-time
08:18 and you see the frustration in the boys,
08:21 and you see there's not a lot of good things, even in the first half,
08:25 only in the last 20 metres.
08:27 The way we managed the ball against them,
08:29 it's never easy, but the problem was really in the last 20 metres of the pitch,
08:33 how we played the last pass, how we created,
08:36 how we kept the overview of these moments.
08:39 But the frustration at half-time, that we have to calm down,
08:43 if we do this and this better, everything will be right.
08:46 Give them patience, give them faith, give them belief.
08:49 And that's why I was so pleased as well,
08:52 because you know that game is really important going into a final.
08:56 What I said, because these boys have to do it for us,
09:00 so they need to grow and they need to find connection with each other.
09:06 It's different if you play Mo, Darwin, Lucio,
09:09 or you play Lucio, Cody, Javi.
09:11 I'm not saying quality, because all five of our strikers scored 10-plus goals already this season,
09:16 so what I'm trying to say is that football is a team sport,
09:19 it's about how they work together, and that needs time.
09:22 You can only do that on the training pitch, the meetings,
09:25 but the main thing is the game, when it gets difficult,
09:28 when you're 1-0 down, how they then start interacting with each other.
09:33 That was the most special thing of the night, because they were growing,
09:38 and it helps if you play towards the Kop.
09:42 Anyway, great second half.
09:46 And the boys were growing, so these young boys need that.
09:49 Then Bobby Clark comes on, James McConnell comes on,
09:52 and they show in 15 minutes what they're all about,
09:55 and then you think, "Wow, the last 10 years we've created culture in this club,
09:59 we've created some real, real culture."
10:03 Thank you.
10:06 Jürgen, Keleher's found himself in the team at the moment with Alisson's injury.
10:14 Although being the hero in a League Cup final against Chelsea,
10:18 he's nothing new to him, he does have the shirt for this all-important stretch in all the competitions.
10:23 Just wondering how you feel he's developed since you've known him
10:26 and how he takes on that added responsibility?
10:29 I still know his first game, derby away, nobody watching.
10:34 On a pitch, not the main pitch, they put us on the sixth pitch or something with the wide fence.
10:40 I still know he saved a penalty there, and you saw a boy, 15 years old,
10:46 not an easy situation at that time,
10:51 and have his trial game with his feet already impressive.
10:56 I'm not sure, but I think he played on the pitch for many years until he became a goalie.
11:01 We all know about his strengths, I'm really pleased for him,
11:06 and for a club like Liverpool you need two good goalkeepers,
11:10 and I'm really happy that we have.
11:12 It's really special and a compliment for John, Jack, Taffa,
11:16 for the guys at the academy, because we produced some good goalkeepers already,
11:21 but Kweef is probably the most outstanding one, and the most complete.
11:26 He can make match-winning saves, he has this,
11:31 and he sees the game, knows how to act as a free player,
11:36 knows when to play with direction,
11:40 and his calmness and serenity creates calmness for all the others.
11:46 Especially how we want to play, if you want to manage the ball from the back,
11:50 to create a better one-on-one situation on top,
11:54 it's really important to have a goalkeeper like that.
11:57 Again, culture, own players, it's cool.
12:04 Earlier this week Manchester United's new investor Jim Ratcliffe
12:13 spoke about learning from Liverpool and Manchester City to overtake them in three years.
12:19 What are your thoughts about that in terms of the timescale?
12:24 And also, with everything that's happened at the club in the summer,
12:27 what would be the basis for this club to stay ahead of the Cheshire?
12:32 Is that a compliment from United?
12:35 That says everything, no? If we get compliments from them...
12:39 Yeah, and about the summer, nobody can replace Jurgen Klopp,
12:45 but I think the past showed already a few difficult transitions.
12:51 What was the most difficult transition inside this club?
12:55 Shankly saying, "That's me."
12:59 And then Paisley stepped up, and what I'm trying to say is that Paisley was completely different
13:05 than Shank.
13:09 It shows that we as a club have to search for someone who wants to grow,
13:15 who has the mindset to develop, but it's not for us.
13:19 The owners can make good decisions about that, but I think we did the right thing
13:25 by announcing early so the club has real time and to make this transition smooth,
13:30 but the past already showed that it's really possible.
13:33 Look, the best team, the Guardiola team of Barca, he says out of nothing, "That's me."
13:41 And then Tito took over, and that's the highest win ratio ever.
13:45 That was probably the most difficult transition in the last 15 years.
13:50 I was at Porto when Villas-Boas won four trophies,
13:56 Europa League in Dublin, with a cup at the time, I was there already.
14:02 A championship away at Benfica in the stadium,
14:08 and then Vitor Pereira took over, and Vitor was completely different than Andre,
14:15 and became champion the year after, and for Porto that year was the biggest year ever.
14:20 What I'm trying to say is that they don't have to replace Jürgen,
14:24 they have to find a good manager, because nobody will replace Jürgen.
14:29 Pep, you mentioned talking about replacing Jürgen,
14:33 did you ever think about putting your own hat in the ring to maybe be the man to stop off?
14:37 No, I was really clear, to be honest.
14:41 When we had the talk, already a long time ago,
14:47 but for me it was clear, it made it easier for me when he said, "This will be it."
14:55 We knew in the summer already, "OK, we are going towards the end of this project."
15:00 I'm talking too much about me, it's too much about me.
15:05 We played in 48 hours the final, and we talked about Jürgen leaving,
15:09 and I understand.
15:14 I think as well I give the interview where a lot of answers are in, to be honest.
15:20 So we spoke, I got the last year's offers, my heart always said yes,
15:28 my loyalty and my friendship and my respect to Mike and Jürgen said no.
15:32 So the moment we spoke and he said, "OK, this is what I'm thinking about,"
15:37 I said, "OK, that's for me, clear, I will go and manage,
15:40 "because we will end this project together."
15:43 I feel it's a project of a lot of people and I feel that it's the right way to do it.
15:52 The club can find a new coach with new elements, but I'm excited to manage,
16:00 I'm excited to go and find the right club, a club who really wants.
16:08 But until the last final of the season, I'm focused on Liverpool,
16:13 I don't even know what's happening now, that's why we have agents.
16:16 Sorry, Pep, I don't know about you, you've come from coaching the Acasamy
16:22 to assistant manager, you've seen the fruits of the labour of the Acasamy,
16:27 and when you looked the other night and you've got James Downs coming on,
16:30 an 18-year-old who only made his debut in the U21s at the start of the year,
16:35 how proud are you of the progress and the state of the Acasamy?
16:39 You are leaving, you're in the summer, what's coming for you?
16:43 The dream was to prove to the world that it's possible, even on this level,
16:47 in the Premier League.
16:49 And not just to prove that you can bring young players,
16:54 but you bring young players and win, because the Acasamy is created to win,
16:59 to bring players who can win you games and can win you trophies,
17:04 because Liverpool Football Club is about this, so I'm really proud.
17:09 I always believed in it, and how I said it now a few times,
17:14 we really create this culture, this one-club mentality,
17:18 that from a young age we play in a certain way,
17:22 when we have scouting meetings we know what's in the second team,
17:28 if we have to buy a right full-back, yes or no,
17:32 then we show big balls to go for the Acasamy player.
17:39 We have a loan manager in place for all these years
17:45 who can control at least the uncontrollable, we try to, it's not easy,
17:49 but you really focus on this because some players just need a few more years
17:53 or a different experience, then you have players who can just come in.
17:57 Everything was based about creating culture, like stability,
18:02 we want to play this way, we believe in this.
18:05 Compliment, I think for Vitor Mats, we have an elite development role
18:13 which just focuses on the young players.
18:16 We have Barry Lutis as the U23 coach who came from the U12s.
18:19 When I was starting at the Academy he was the U12 coach,
18:22 he's now the U23 coach, so he's promoting from that.
18:26 We have Alex Inglethorpe who is as long as Jürgen, or longer, in the club,
18:32 so that's what probably Man United is...
18:36 This structure, this culture, that takes time,
18:39 but you need good people to believe in certain processes.
18:43 And when the difficult decisions come, that's where you have to make
18:47 the difficult decision, or not the decision where you believe in your own.
18:53 And I think Conor Bradley is a prime example,
18:59 Trent Alexander is a prime example,
19:02 and so is Manu Kuiv.
19:06 That creates a healthy club, and that creates 200 young boys
19:13 who are training now every day, scousers who are 10 years old
19:18 and wear shirts, and that they dream and that they hope.
19:22 And that's down to the...
19:26 Not as much the academy director or the first elite development coach,
19:30 but that's down to the manager in the end,
19:32 because you can have the best academy in the world,
19:35 in the end he has to trust them and he needs to create space in the squad,
19:41 and he needs to make all these decisions,
19:44 because in the end he wants to win, and the players.
19:47 So, it's cool.
19:52 I think since the announcement you've had six games, won five of them,
19:59 but I think a month ago there was a fear that it could have been a distraction,
20:03 that hasn't happened. Have you talked about that as a group,
20:06 and do you think it has brought everyone closer together,
20:09 maybe even provided a bit more focus to ensure that this era ends on a high?
20:13 I think you underestimate our squad, the personalities in it,
20:16 they've been through a lot already,
20:19 recent history but also how they grew up.
20:22 A lot of these boys had to show character from a young age,
20:25 not everything went easy for them.
20:28 You guys know better than me, but a lot of us get a lot of criticism,
20:32 so we grow with this, it only feeds us.
20:36 And all these boys, they know how to deal with it,
20:44 they are not kids anymore.
20:49 They have a lot of passion for this club, a lot of love for this club,
20:58 I think they all want to do the same.
21:01 Jurgen was good, I think he said,
21:04 "We sign a one-year contract each season,
21:09 "so this is a one-year deal together with us,
21:12 "we try to fight, but we never make it more complicated than it is."
21:17 I like that, we just say, "OK, the next game, that's our final."
21:21 I know it is a final, so that's good,
21:23 but let's give everything to win that one, everything on this planet,
21:28 and try to give joy and emotion to the fans.
21:31 It's not much more than that.
21:34 We look at what we have, but yeah, Virgil van Dijk, Captain, Roberts,
21:39 all these boys in the leadership group,
21:42 then Talent, who are probably the 24, 25-year-olds who just want to win.
21:49 And a lot of these boys, they didn't win nothing with Liverpool yet,
21:53 so of course they give everything, despite the manager says he's leaving.
21:58 Now we are stable enough to deal with it, that's what I thought before,
22:01 but you never know. I agree, that's in the back of your mind.
22:06 But again...
22:09 Yeah, I trust the squad enough, we trust the squad enough that they can deal with that.
22:17 - Thank you, bye. - Thank you, guys.
22:23 - Bye. - Bye.
22:25 (clattering)
22:27 [APPLAUSE]