Jürgen Klopp: I've waited so long to say this - welcome back
Jürgen Klopp is delighted by the prospect of seeing fans inside Anfield again this evening and pledged his team will continue to give everything on the pitch for those still unable to attend too.
The Premier League clash with Wolverhampton Wanderers will see 2,000 supporters return to the stadium, nine months on from its last game in front of a crowd.
It is an occasion Klopp has been waiting for and is now eagerly anticipating – and the manager underlined the Reds’ duty to bring joy to the entire fanbase.
“There is only one place for me to start today: welcome back to Anfield,” he writes in his notes for the official matchday programme.
“Wow. I have waited so long to say these words so for those of you who are fortunate enough to be here – I am so pleased to see you.
“We have missed you and even though we never needed a reminder of how important our supporters are to us, we had one anyway.
“We know Anfield will not be full and we are going to have to wait a while longer before the stadium rocks like we know it can, but today is a really positive step – not just for us as a club but for the city of Liverpool as a whole – and I hope many more will follow in the coming weeks and months.
“To those who will be here, I would ask only one thing – that you support these boys to the maximum that the rules will allow. I know from experience that playing in front of small crowds in bigger grounds can sometimes be difficult because on the pitch you are able to hear individual voices so we all have a responsibility to be as positive and give as much encouragement as we possibly can.
“It has been a long time since you have seen this team and I hope you like what you see. To be honest, I think you will.
“This is not the easiest moment for us and we have suffered some knocks, but if anything that has brought us even closer together and made us even more determined to continue being the kind of team that this club and our wonderful supporters deserve.
“It is also important that our fans who cannot be here today know that we are still playing for them. It might seem strange seeing as we have been unable to see each other since March, but we have felt you with us in everything that we have done.
“We play because of our fans and for our fans. That will never, ever change.”
