Jürgen on Dortmund clash, pressure and belief

On what to expect from the Anfield atmosphere...

Hopefully something that I didn't have until now. We've had a few wonderful atmospheres in the Europa League, but the best was for sure the first leg against Man United. This is the level we have to jump over. I don't like atmospheres in football when they don't really depend on the game. I think we have to do our job, we have to be part of this atmosphere. We have to show that we are ready, we have to show that we know what it's about then I'm pretty sure that the crowd will help us.

On the pressure on both teams...

I have no idea what it is like for Borussia Dortmund. But I don't think we are under particular pressure either. What we are presented with is a great chance and it's not going to be easy because Borussia Dortmund are a great side and we respect that. But I'm sure Thomas Tuchel takes a similar opinion. We are in a position where we are looking to go further, I don't think it's really a question of pressure. We have a great chance to get to a semi-final and it's rare for teams to be able to win competitions because there aren't that many titles to win. I think we're in with a great chance and pressure isn't really relevant.

On both teams making changes at the weekend…

To be honest, I wasn’t surprised that Dortmund did it but I didn’t think too much about it because I know nothing about the situation of Dortmund, [and] I don’t know who felt how after the game against us. We didn’t do it because of the last game or the game tomorrow; the last game against Dortmund was really intensive and I wanted to have a team that was really greedy on Stoke - that’s what we had. It’s all about the opportunities you have and you need the players for this. They need to be prepared for this because it’s all about winning games. It’s not about having a nice time doing 90 minutes and getting some experience and in the end you lose 6-0 - that makes not too much sense. The squad you bring on the pitch needs to be prepared and you need to have a chance to win the game and that’s what we tried to do at Stoke. But about the Dortmund situation, I can really say nothing.

On the reaction back in Germany about how BVB should have done better last week…

I don’t think we went to the limit of our performance last week and I don’t think Dortmund did either. Dortmund are having a great season. We’ve had a number of highlights but perhaps lack consistency. Some people might have thought Dortmund would have an easier time against us but the game didn’t turn out like that. The way we played, we endeavored to create chances, which we did. Against Dortmund you just can’t defend so that will be the same here tomorrow - it’s a balance of attack and defence. You can defend with seven men but you have got three men spare then as well. Forget about last week’s game. We face the game tomorrow night with a lot of attitude and we certainly won’t be flying a white flag. We are aware of the quality of Borussia Dortmund and perhaps Borussia Dortmund can play a lot better, but so can we. We know that we’re facing a good opponent and we perhaps have to do better in tomorrow night’s game against Dortmund.

On the Dortmund players being affected by his return in the first leg…

I had to be there! I have no idea what was said there, I don’t have contact with the players. I assume that the situation doesn’t change greatly. Obviously there was a different outcome in the game in Dortmund, but if you look over the season they have been consistently at the top end of the Bundesliga. You have to look at the type of football Dortmund play and it’s very, very good. There is no reason why that should suddenly change. There may be specific reasons for that but we need to be prepared to compete. I think Borussia Dortmund will seek to play their game again tomorrow. My role isn’t so important, my aim now is to focus on tomorrow’s game and I’m sure the lads in Dortmund will take the same way.

On the belief within his group of players…

Each step we have taken in the last few weeks has given us confidence. I’m not too good in remembering all the results from the last few weeks because there were too many games. Only the second half against Southampton was a little bit of a step in the wrong direction. All the others game we [have] looked really consistent and [at] a higher level than before. We are growing as a group and [are] believing more in all the things. We were never in doubt about the things we do but you need to see that they work in the game and that you can use them in each situation and they help you. It’s not important what I say here, it won’t have influence on the game tomorrow. We know about the opponent, we know about their strengths and they know more about our strengths. Maybe they will change a few things or adapt a few things. But maybe we change a few things, maybe we play more offensive - three or four strikers. It’s all about finding the right answers in the game. Now we are better prepared than a few months ago when I started here, because now we are together for six months and that time is long. Not only we talk about the game tomorrow, there a lot of things for us still to go for and we will try everything. That’s what the team has showed me in the last few weeks - that they want it too. That’s pretty important. We trust them but they trust themselves too and that’s good.

On the bravery his side need for tomorrow…

Yes. It’s always about being brave, especially against a high-quality team. You need to be brave. Everything in the game changes and can influence confidence on a positive side or negative side. Being brave is always one of the most things in football.  

On his final message…

My final message is always to my players. There are a lot things to say before I give the final message so I don’t know.

On not being able to press a button for a good performance…

Perhaps you can press buttons, but equally so can opponents. Things just don’t happen out of nothing. Good performances come from good work and tomorrow both teams can produce good performances so we will have to look at where we are and take the game as it comes.

On the team spirit…

Looking at where we are now, we know each other better. Together we have developed a belief on the pitch that has helped them and feel that they have developed. We are in a better position now than we were six months ago because of that commitment. A large part of that is down to the consistency we have developed and I think a number of teams would have rather [have] played us four months ago than now. That consistency that has come about doesn’t mean tomorrow’s game will be easy, but it means that we are in with a good chance. I certainly feel we have the ability and the quality to get through to the semi-finals.