Klopp feels top-four finish for Liverpool will be 'insanely difficult'

Jurgen Klopp admits it will be ‘insanely difficult’ for Liverpool to make the top four this term… as he blames the club’s ‘incredibly intense’ 2021-22 campaign and their ‘brutal’ injury list for their disappointing start to the season

• Liverpool are outside the top four after a disappointing start to the season 
• Jurgen Klopp has admitted it will be ‘insanely difficult’ to get into the top four
• Liverpool have fallen away this season after challenging on all fronts last term
• Klopp believes the intensity of last season has affected his players 
• He has also pointed out that injuries to key players have not helped his side 

Jurgen Klopp has admitted that his Liverpool side have an ‘insanely difficult’ task on their hands to make the Premier League’s top four this season.

The Reds have become accustomed to challenging for the title in recent seasons, but are well off the pace this time around after they suffered their fifth league defeat of the campaign against Brentford on Monday.

Klopp’s men are currently seven points adrift of fourth-placed Manchester United, and the German manager has conceded that Liverpool have their work cut out to get back into the Champions League.

Jurgen Klopp has admitted his side have a major battle on their hands to make the top four

‘Reaching the Champions League is of course extremely important for us. That’s insanely difficult,’ Klopp told Bild.

‘People are a bit spoiled there because we’ve mostly made it early in recent years. If it works out this year, it will be a late decision. It may take a while for us to catch up. But we know what we have to do.’

Liverpool were just two games away from a historic quadruple last season after beating Chelsea on penalties in the Carabao Cup and FA Cup finals. 

The Merseyside club were edged out by Manchester City in the Premier League title race on the last day, and then lost to Real Madrid the following week in the Champions League final as they fell just short of pulling off a remarkable achievement.

Explaining why his side have fallen away this term, Klopp pointed out that last year’s campaign took a lot out of his players, and admitted that injuries to key players had also left the team struggling to cope.

Klopp thinks his team are still feeling the effects of their ‘intense’ end to last season

‘We had to pay a bit of the bill for the last year, which was incredibly intense,’ Klopp continued.

‘Then the preparation was difficult: short vacation, then a trip to Asia, suffered early injuries and brought some from the old season. And then you have to juggle – players who are injured have to play early. Others who are not injured have to play too often. It all came together. 

‘And then we play in a pretty good league. It doesn’t matter what your problem is. You have to be there immediately. We then stabilised, but now we have injury problems again: Diogo Jota is still not back, Luis Díaz is injured again. That’s brutal. 

‘We don’t look for excuses, we have to fight our way through. The head is 100% there.’

Liverpool have failed to find top gear since domestic football returned after the World Cup, with defeats against Manchester City and Brentford coming either side of unconvincing wins over Aston Villa and Leicester.

Klopp also fells injuries haven’t helped with Diogo Jota having been sidelined in recent months

Luis Diaz is also out injured at the moment, and is not expected to return for a while

Klopp is happy with how he used the World Cup break, though, and has revealed that his coaching staff put together video clips from last season to remind his players of exactly how he wants them to perform.

‘The preparation during the World Cup was really, really good. We made small videos for our players, 15 minutes with their good scenes,’ he said.

‘That’s when we realised: In order to show them, we have to use some from last season. We want to go back to this football.’

Klopp has just passed the seven-year mark at Anfield, a notable landmark as this is the length of time he spent at his previous clubs Mainz and Borussia Dortmund before leaving.

Following Liverpool’s poor start to the season, there have been murmurings that Klopp’s time at the club could be coming to an end.

Klopp feels he is the right man to get Liverpool back to their best, and has backed himself to guide Liverpool through their ‘transitional period’

The 55-year-old doesn’t see things that way, though, and is determined to guide Liverpool through their ‘transitional period’ and back to their best.

‘This is a human reflex and completely normal,’ Klopp replied when asked about people questioning his Liverpool future.

‘That doesn’t bother me at all. When times are good, we’re always inflated. In bad times there is a lot to be said for. I can handle that with ease. No problem!

‘The approach with seven years in Mainz and Dortmund and now seven years in Liverpool is obvious. But if I had noticed that things were going in the wrong direction here even after seven years because of me, I would have been the first to leave. 

‘I was aware that it is currently a transitional period. That’s why the club and I agree that I’ll stay behind the wheel and that we’ll look at the whole thing in the medium to long term.’

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