Klopp: Why I was relieved about West Ham win

Jürgen Klopp's chief emotion after the season-opening win against West Ham United was relief that the preceding six weeks of hard work had paid off.

Liverpool rose to the occasion at Anfield last Sunday with a comprehensive 4-0 victory secured through Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane (two) and Daniel Sturridge.

That the performance looked like a seamless continuation from the form of the previous campaign was a result of the intensity of their pre-season preparations – and the aspect that most pleased the manager.

“The feeling I had was not pride, I was relieved,” Klopp told Sky Sports after being presented with the League Managers Association’s Performance of the Week award.

“Because in pre-season you think a lot about all the things you want to do and the sessions you want to have, and there’s always a point – one or two weeks before the season starts – when you think: ‘Did I miss something?’

“Even after being in the job for 17 or 18 years, you think: ‘Did we do that and did we do that?’ Then it’s: ‘Yes, we did. If not, we can do it again.’

“It’s a lot of sessions and at one point you need to deliver – that’s the first game. We all know we don’t prepare [only] the first game but of course the first game as well. That means we need to be ready in that game as well and we were ready.

“I’m really happy that the players showed we didn’t meet 10 minutes before the game. They showed we had a pre-season together and I loved that.”

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