Klopp on reaching 100th LFC league game
Jürgen Klopp believes Liverpool are ‘in a good moment and prepared for the future’ as he gets ready to register his 100th Premier League game in charge.
The boss will reach the milestone in Saturday lunchtime’s clash with Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park, two-and-a-half years after taking the helm in October 2015.
During that time, Klopp has guided the Reds to two cup finals, secured Champions League qualification and, this season, led the team into the last eight of Europe’s premier competition.
Asked to reflect on his tenure so far during his pre-Palace press conference, the manager replied: “100? Wow! How much did I enjoy it? Sometimes more, sometimes less – that’s true.
“Overall, from my point of view, it was a really good time and I’ve enjoyed it, of course; fantastic club, fantastic team, fantastic supporters, so what more do I want?
“I’ve had to talk about this a few times and if we had won one or both of the two finals we have played so far, it would have been nicer but it still would have been 100 games. All OK, all on its way. We are good in the moment and prepared for the future, so that’s maybe the best thing you can say about the football club apart from ‘when did he win something last time?’ We are trying hard for sure, as you can imagine and can see.
“100 is a nice number. With all the European games, I think we are around about 140 already or something and that’s cool, but we still want to win the next game – and we’re not thinking about the last 99.”
Liverpool sealed a fourth-place finish in the Premier League table during Klopp’s maiden full campaign on Merseyside – and are on course to better that in his second, currently occupying third in the standings heading into the final straight.
Quizzed on whether he felt the English top flight was the toughest in Europe at the present moment, Klopp said: “Yes, I was not in doubt about that before. That was clear from the first moment; all the other leagues are strong, but there are not six teams who can win the league, only in England.
“In the last three years we have had three different champions. It’s probably the only league in Europe where that has happened and that says everything.
“The quality of all the other teams who are not champions is really big as well. It’s a tough place, absolutely, but that’s how football should be on this level. We all get good pay, so we have to battle on the highest level and that’s cool. In this moment I think the Premier League is for sure the most interesting league in the world.”