Jürgen Klopp: We feel 100 per cent as one group
Jürgen Klopp believes Liverpool are in perfect harmony with supporters as both aim to do their bit to ensure a successful end to 2018-19, insisting: 'We feel 100 per cent as one group at this moment.'
The Reds face just five more games in the Premier League this term as they aim to pip Manchester City to the league title, while in the Champions League, they head into the second leg of their quarter-final with FC Porto in pole position following a 2-0 win at Anfield earlier this week.
Klopp insists the positivity reverberating among fans is having an uplifting impact on the team, particularly in the immediate moments after they’ve suffered a setback on the pitch.
The manager told his pre-Chelsea press conference at Melwood: “I feel the positive energy and I really think it is a massive change from being surprised that we are up there to getting used to it and becoming more and more confident, maybe. It’s all a process, it’s a big process, so that’s good.
“The five or 10 seconds after Tottenham’s equaliser was, for me, the best moment for a long, long time in the stadium. The reaction we showed there was unbelievable, so that gave us the opportunity to do it on the pitch as well – and that shows.
“We feel as one group in the moment, 100 per cent as one group, together with the supporters. Really, that’s 100 per cent the truth. We really feel this, not only ‘walk alone’, you are never alone in these situations – and we want to do it for all of us. We try with all we have in a very positive way, we try to keep this dream alive.
“In the moment it’s all good, but the game is not easier – they are still very difficult. Chelsea are in a really good moment; you can talk a lot about us and everything that’s happened during the year because the results were good, and over the years we had so many good games [in Europe], fantastic home games… it doesn’t mean anything for Sunday. It’s still Chelsea coming here and they want to get three points to make sure they will be in the Champions League next year. That’s the job to do.
“But we don’t ignore the vibes, we try to use them – and maybe to give them a little bit of a boost with the things we do on the pitch. That’s all we can do.”
Despite the air of optimism around Anfield heading into the final straight, Klopp believes no-one – be it player or supporter – is getting too carried away, particularly given the quality of Liverpool’s rivals for the trophies.
“I don’t think our fans in this moment are like this – they know exactly, it’s not like we win again and then it’s, ‘Yes! Only five to go!’ They know there are still five to go and that’s a pretty sensible way to think about it,” he said.
“We have 82 points in this moment and probably a few more at the end of the season and that’s an historical season. In a lot of other seasons you would be champions with that, but that’s how it is and we cannot say, ‘Yeah, but in 1990-something we would have been champion with that amount…’ because it’s not important.
“We are now in the situation, we had to win all these games, we had to make sure we didn’t lose a lot of games and we needed this long run of positive results to be in this position because our opponent is Manchester City. They played, I think in the FA Cup semi-final, and brought from the bench, if I am right, De Bruyne, Sane and Fernandinho. Wow, that’s a nice bench! That’s the situation, that’s really strong.
“Nobody is hoping or whatever, everybody is ready to work for it – and that’s the only thing we can do. We don’t hope it will happen, we want to work for it then we will see. Inside, it is not a feeling inside that if we don’t do it then ‘how can that happen?’
“It’s for us the first time that we really tried and not number 29 or something because this group is – in the moment – completely new together, so we try the first time and not a lot more. If you try the first time, it is not the last time you try it – it’s only the first.”