Jurgen Klopp came into Liverpool all smiles and excited by the challenge that lay ahead of him after taking over from Brendan Rodgers.
But understandably the German’s grin has been all but wiped from his face as the club have gone from dazzling to dreadful, sometimes in the same game, in his four months so far on Merseyside.
The former Borussia Dortmund manager has guided Liverpool to the League Cup final and the knockout stages of the Europa League, but speaking to Sky Deutschland, the German admitted the romance of the club has left him feeling cold in the last few weeks.
“In the beginning when Liverpool called me and we made the decision to take that offer we realized that it’s really the sequel of a great managerial career to coach Liverpool after a great time in Mainz and Dortmund.
“But once you are here it’s just going to work in the morning and going home in the evening. And in between you’ve had a hard day.
“I can’t go on about how great it is to be here and to congratulate myself for taking the job. I’ve just got too much to do and too much to work on. But of course you love that especially because I’m doing it in a wonderful environment.”
Klopp sounds like a man who is after years of hard grind rather than a few months of working with Simon Mignolet, and to his credit he has not moaned too much about not having much joy with targets in the January transfer window.
The club did bring in Steven Caulker but defensively they have been as fragile as ever. Klopp admits fans are getting frustrated, but has called for patience.
“In general you can say that dead-ball situations are even more important in the Premier League. Some people laugh at keepers that complain about being attacked in the box.
“Sometimes as a keeper I would ask myself why I should take on that fight if I’m not protected. Dead-balls are therefore more important and more difficult to defend over here.”
