Press conferenceJürgen Klopp discusses midfield, NBA coach Steve Kerr's visit and more

Fielding questions from journalists at the AXA Training Centre, the Reds boss also discussed the recent visit of Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr to the Kirkby facility.

Read on to see what Klopp had to say…

On last week's comment in the press conference regarding the pursuit of a midfielder, 'You were all right and I was wrong'...

Look, the situations are the following, we start the season with nine midfielders? I would say nine. And every aspect was everything in, like creativity, speed, excitement because young, stuff like this, technique, fight, runners, whatever you want, it's all in. They all have contracts and then you start a pre-season, or these kind of things. When a player [with] one-year contract, whatever, two-year contract comes and then [says], 'I didn't play often enough last year. Then I want to go.' Then in that moment, he go. But the one thing that we push people actively out and tell them, 'You are cut out now. Yes, it was great what you did until last year but now we don't like you anymore, go' and these kind of things. We are not like this, we are not like this.

So it means we had all different aspects of a midfield game. You all told me or whoever, you are the ones who ask questions obviously then, 'Do you need another midfielder?' A 10th midfielder? Sure, but we were going for a midfielder but a midfielder decided to go to another club, so that can happen. So in that moment it's now not just like this, 'Oh we don't take him, then let's see if we can take the other one.' Some players are in this moment not available but for us really interesting, so that's how it is. And now we can make their decision – we bring somebody in where you think, 'Is it the right one? I'm not 100 per cent sure; short term probably yes, long term I'm not 100 per cent sure, and what would that mean for the next transfer?' and all these kind of things, what are all going through the mind. That's how our life is.

We cannot just push the button and say, 'Bring him in and we worry about all the problems it could create next year, later on, all these kind of things.' Yes, and we get injuries and all of a sudden it looks like, 'Oh yes, we need a midfielder, definitely.' So, we always wanted, we always wanted but it was always about the right one. And we cannot change that just because of some things – yes, more injuries but that can change a little bit and then you say, 'OK but we can do this now and maybe that would help us then, next year as well', these kind of things. It must always be short and long term and this didn't happen yet. That's it.

On the age profile of the squad...

But that will change naturally, that will change naturally. What is that? In the moment when we consider 30-year-old, 29, 30-year-old people as old then something is really a problem – for all in the room pretty much, by the way, a massive problem! But I understand it 100 per cent. That will change naturally. We have the young boys. We could line up a really young midfield, a really young midfield, and that could work. They are already here. Let me say we start Stefan on six – believe it or not, he could play that now – and Harvey and Fabio turns 20 today. The average would be 18 I think, or 18-and-a-half, of these three players. I would do that, no problem at all. So it makes now immediate sense? I'm not sure but we could do it. And now in a year, great.

So we have three very young midfielders and then we have in the best football age – 25, 26 – and then we have players around 30; they bring in experience, they have the determination, they are the characters in this team, all these kind of things, very important – you cannot buy this. They developed it over years and now in the moment in their prime we say, 'Now you're getting too old. You are not too old but you're getting too old'? Yes, we will have an eye on that, definitely, no worries about that. But I understand all these kind of things.

You expect or you know that injuries will happen but that they came all together in this moment – because we always had injuries, it's normal, all football teams have that – but this came together. Again, we had this kind of a little bit. We had, two years ago, the centre-half disease and then all of a sudden the strikers were struggling there a little bit and then a midfielder... It's not like one striker, one midfielder and one defender or whatever. It's then always a bit the other way around. That's all.

On Kerr's visit and what you can learn from somebody from a different sport...

We didn't have this kind of conversation, to be honest. We had a very private conversation. He's a fantastic guy. It was a pleasure to meet him. I made a picture when he spoke to a couple of the players and told the boys, 'If you would look one time that concentrated when I talked to you, that would be really cool!' Great guy, he was here with his missus, a wonderful lady as well. We had just a good time, to be honest. We didn't go in detail. So, I told him what we are doing, he was here obviously, how we do that and obviously the training grounds in basketball and football look slightly different and he liked everything what he saw here – it's a great place. How we deal with different things, this kind of stuff.

The one moment when I was really, really happy that I didn't become [a] basketball coach was when he said he has to do press every day! Wow, that would be a killer. But he has a four-month break, so that's cool. He promised me he will speak about that in public, that's a real difference, but he didn't do that obviously, otherwise you would have told me. It was great. One of the greatest of the game, so it's absolutely outstanding. What it showed you again, you can be seen as big as you want in public, smart people still stay very grounded and just good people. It was a real pleasure to meet him.