Programme notesJürgen Klopp: Let's make the most of the time we have together
Jürgen Klopp looks ahead to his penultimate Anfield fixture as Liverpool manager and the test waiting against Tottenham Hotspur, in his matchday programme notes.
With three games left in 2023-24, the Reds have secured a return to Champions League football and can clinch at least third place in the Premier League with a win today.
Klopp is pleased that the hard work put in this season by his players has resulted in qualification for Europe's elite club competition, which is set to introduce a new format in 2024-25.
But the boss nevertheless is eager to deliver positive performances on the pitch in the final weeks of the campaign, particularly with the knowledge these are his concluding moments at the club.
"It is clear that getting over this particular line [Champions League qualification] is a very important objective," he writes.
- Pick up your copy of the matchday programme at Anfield this afternoon
"We enjoyed being in the Europa League this season and would have liked to have been in it for longer than we ultimately were, but at the same time we all know the importance of Champions League football to this club. As well as being helpful for the future, it also underlines the progress that has been made in the present given where we were last season.
"We know, of course, that this is also an aim for our opponents and it says a lot about the work that Ange Postecoglou is doing at Tottenham that they are involved in this conversation in his first season in charge. I think anyone who has watched Spurs play this season will have admired the way that they play football and I am most definitely in this category.
"They are not only well set up as a team, they are also very exciting to watch, which is never a bad combination. It should also be remembered that this is happening not only in Ange's first season in charge but also in the first year that Spurs have been without Harry Kane. My respect for this could not be bigger and I am sure that they will continue to develop as a team in the coming weeks, months and years."
Klopp continues: "I have said throughout that I am not 'in that moment' in terms of focusing on my own situation and this is very much unchanged. The time to reflect will come, but it is not now.
"At the same time, though, it is indisputable that our final two home games will be my last at Anfield as a manager so hopefully we can make the most of the time we have together.
"For me, this means playing good football, being at one with our people and doing everything we can together to make Anfield the special place and Liverpool the unbelievably incredible club that it is.
"The good thing is, for this to happen all that we need to be is ourselves and all we have to do is give everything that we have. Again, this would be my message regardless of the situation because it is the only one that makes sense and it is also one that has served us so, so well."
- Pick up your copy of the matchday programme at Anfield this afternoon
