Q&AJürgen Klopp press conference: 'We have to be at our best at Brentford'
Jürgen Klopp explained why Liverpool need to be at their absolute best when they come up against the unique challenge of Brentford.
The Reds head to Gtech Community Stadium for a Saturday lunchtime encounter in the Premier League.
Klopp previewed the fixture during a press conference at the AXA Training Centre on Friday morning – read on to see what he had to say…
On the chance to possibly open up a five-point gap at the top with a win at Brentford but that being 'easier said than done'...
That's what you always do! You say the easiest things and we have to deal with the reality. It's super, super-tricky, super-tricky there. The way they play, the way they set it up with or without [Ivan] Toney makes a difference, [having] all the guys back from the Africa Cup of Nations makes a difference. [Neal] Maupay found his feet, [he] makes a difference. [They are] well organised, set-pieces, cheeky, whether it's rhythm-breaks... obviously when you are good at set-pieces it makes sense you get set-pieces, so they want set-pieces. That's how it is. How can you defend Brentford for 95 minutes by avoiding any kind of set-piece? That's not possible in football. On top of that, they are not only set-pieces but just really good at it, very compact defending, very good in counter-attack, very brave in these moments. [They] have the speed and a clear idea, a well-coached team and the atmosphere in the stadium they can create is really good.
But saying all that anyway with what we want to do and where we want to end up this season, we have to be on top of our game as well. That means we have to be the team where they think in a similar way about, 'OK, if you defend that, they do that, if you defend this, then they do that.' That's exactly the way we have to approach it. I'm really fine, especially with the resilience we showed recently. It's just, yes, good form [and] then Arsenal, obviously a proper dip there. Then Burnley [is] a super-difficult game. But again, the domination and the attitude we showed in this game, dealing with a really difficult situation inside the squad, I really liked a lot. Now we have to be at our best. If you want to win at Brentford, you definitely have to be at your best. It's a really smart-coached team.
On Brentford playing with two central attackers and whether that will be a focus...
It's not that rare. It might be that rare because, what can I say, Chelsea brings [Conor] Gallagher, for example, or whoever plays up front, they're in that role, this kind of clear striker. But actually that's not the problem, the problem is the balls you play to Toney and how he can bring it into the next player, how they react on that. Their second-ball game is second to none – they're really good at that. But Toney is really smart in using his body in these situations. It's super-difficult to get on the ball because if you don't get on the ball, he goes down. If you get on the ball and Toney goes down, they have a free-kick and then you don't know what you want in these situations – let the ball go through rather than creating a free-kick? That's the situation.
How I said, [it's] very smart what they do. Is it exactly what I would do? I'm not sure, but could I do it? I'm really not sure. But it's very smart and keeps them for years now already and for the next years definitely in the Premier League, and that's probably what Brentford wants. The development the club made in the last few years is really impressive. So, the two-striker thing is actually not the problem but there are plenty of others.
On Liverpool's improvement since their last away game at Brentford...
If I would have thought about it, I would have been surprised probably, I would never have guessed that. But I didn't. We wanted to win the first at Chelsea but we didn't do [it] and then we wanted to win the second. I think that's how it works. There was a moment, and I really remember, when we realised it's a really good squad we have together here. So, now we have to use it and you need luck and you need players available as long and often as somehow possible. But no, [I] didn't really think about it. You might be right with the points tally that at that time it was completely different, but it means nothing for this game. It's not the points we have, it's the points we can gain and the next three are there. Super-difficult. I'm pretty sure all the teams who are playing with us up there in that region of the table would say, 'OK, if they do it, that's a game Liverpool might struggle [in].' We have to make sure Brentford has more problems with us than we have with them.
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Watch on YouTubeOn the versatility within the squad...
Very important, very valuable, but in general that's how a football squad should be. It's a good sign in general for football how players can... if you break down barriers a little bit in their own mind, 'That's my position.' Joey [Gomez], when I arrived here and in the time before I arrived here, he played left-back. He showed as a very young kid he can play that but he is a centre-half. If you can play left-back, it's obvious you can play right-back – that's what Joey did in a specific way very good, unfortunately often enough for some reasons but very good. And now he plays the role either side. It's a really good example for versatility, development and improvement.
The way I understand football anyway, the only real positioning is when you defend. So, if you are a right-back, you defend on right-back usually. If you are a centre-mid, you defend this kind of area when there's a clear situation, build-up [of] the opponent. If you lose the ball in any area, there's no position anymore for defending – it's the closest and if it's the No.9 who is the closest then he has to go there and defend. That's all different to the past when positions were positions and just play like this. It's good for football and it's good for us, very good, and very super-helpful.
You will always find arguments for this and that position for this or that player but we have to make decisions for the team on the day, so who is available, who is in which shape and who fits together in the best way. Obviously with the injuries we had so far, most of the time we really could sort it with the boys we had available but as well because the boys had rhythm because they played before already. Nobody came in now and didn't play for six, eight weeks and then has to fill the role – that didn't happen. So, that was good so far but there's still a long way to go.
On Harvey Elliott's impact off the bench and whether he is 'knocking on your door' for more starts...
No, no, no, Harvey is not doing that. But we had talks anyway. With Harvey we always forget how young he is, he is just that long already here, had a bad injury here, before the injury was first on the teamsheet probably. Young players go through different moments in the early days of their career: it's flying, not flying, working hard. Not him [specifically], all young players do that, that's completely normal. And footballers in general, but the younger we are the more likely it is. Harvey, this was incredibly important and I'm sure he knows that. Is it like that he wishes he would start each game? Yes, probably he wants that. But it was a little bit [like] when he came on he was brilliant, when he started he was not exactly the same. And it's not a problem.
It's not that I say, 'You have to do that' because he is young, he has time and he will be there 100 per cent. It's not that he will be for the rest of his career the super-sub or whatever the public calls him. So it's just: take your time, have a real impact in the game, learn the game, understand the game, use your skillset better and better and better. There's a lot that he is already doing really well and there's of course a lot of potential still in him. It's a joy to work with him but the two assists obviously helped a lot because he was flying through the week, absolutely exceptional how he trained this week. There you can see, the best thing to inject in a player is confidence – and that works the best with goals or assists or good performances.