Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has assured fans that he remains energised as he prepares to try and fix the Reds’ nightmare season.
Ahead of Sunday’s visit from league leaders Arsenal, Liverpool sit eighth in the Premier League table, 13 points adrift of the top four and facing an uphill battle to even qualify for any form of European football next season.
Having faced significant questions over his suitability for the task at hand, Klopp was adamant he is no stranger to overcoming adversity.
“I have no problem with re-energising. It is part of the job,” he said. “At the start of my career, I worked for Mainz who lost most games because they didn’t have a chance.
“If I’d ever doubted myself, that would have been tricky for me. I never thought I am the best manager or the worst.
“It’s just a situation at the moment that we have to get through. I understand football and know a lot about human beings. Sometimes you just need time in a world where we don’t have time. It’s not that I’m super-patient and say ‘ok, no problem, we will sort that next week’. That’s not my nature to be honest but, really, my energy is not an issue.”
Klopp also took the opportunity to defend the under-fire Virgil van Dijk who, like many of Liverpool’s stars, has fallen short of his lofty expectations this season.
“Virge is not under pressure to be a leader, he is a leader. Always was,” Klopp assured supporters.
“Organising the line is a massive thing but it’s not that he started now becoming a leader. It was always the case.”