In spite of Liverpool current form woes, Jurgen Klopp claims he is “100% dedicated” to the team and discussed his feelings of obligation following setbacks.
The Reds have now lost four straight Premier League games, including a brutal 3-0 defeat against Wolves last weekend.
Liverpool face Everton in the Merseyside derby on Monday Night Football, with the struggling Toffees aiming for the second successive victory under new manager Sean Dyche.
But this is not the first rocky patch Jurgen Klopp has had in his managerial career, also experiencing hard moments at previous clubs Mainz and Borussia Dortmund and reiterated his commitment to Liverpool.
When asked if people sometimes forget the difficult spells he had previously, Klopp replied: “I don’t think people forget it. If I was to look at it, the difficult spells always came at the end of the time. At Mainz, we had difficult times the whole time, if you like. At Dortmund, it was at the beginning and end.
“I will not and I cannot go. I have too much responsibility and I want that.
“These are the difficult times and I don’t enjoy it, but if you can show in this time that especially this club is so special because we believe in anything. If people believe in me, then we can go through this together because when we come out, we will have great times again.
“Maybe the difficult times are a bit too long already for me as well, so that makes it really difficult, but I don’t think about these kinds of things. I’m here, 100 per cent committed.
“I’ve said before, if we win, I feel like I’m a part of it, but if we lose, I feel 100 per cent responsible. I’ve always been like this so you can imagine how big the responsibility is I feel at the moment. We will do absolutely everything to get through this and prepare for a positive future again.
“We have to be calm and smart and do things in the right moment. There’s one moment where I’m really emotional, and that’s after we lose the game. Apart from that, I’m completely clear and can do the job I always did and am experienced enough to know we can get through this.”
Klopp: Two days off after Wolves was needed
Klopp also revealed how he gave his Liverpool team two days off after their defeat to Wolves, adding it was needed following a debriefing on Sunday.
He said: “We had the game against Wolverhampton, we came in on Sunday. We analysed, we spoke to each other and then we gave them two days off because it’s a very long time between Saturday and Monday.
“Of course, I could’ve said ‘Sunday training or recovery and then on Monday, we go for them’. It wouldn’t have been helpful at all, it would’ve been bad, it would’ve caused injuries and a lot of problems.
“And, to be honest, on Sunday after we spoke, I thought it 100 per cent made sense if we didn’t see each other for two days and it was helpful. I left on Sunday in an average mood and came back with a good mood. I worked through it, there were a lot of phone calls, but I was in a much better mood.
“You cannot forget it but two days later, it just looks different. I was on the phone a lot, I had a lot of things to do. I had time for a long walk, which I didn’t do for ages. I went in one direction and realised I had the wrong shoes when I arrived there.
“It settles you. It starts with being really emotional directly after the game because I hate losing. I know what you all thought about what I did in the press conference, but actually, it was the lowest level of the aggression I had inside me. I was unhappy with a lot of things that happened, but I just don’t like if you go for the wrong people.
“Go for me, that’s fine, but don’t go for other people. They were much more influential in the good times than they are now and that’s just not fair.
“That’s then the start of how you deal with the situation. You drive home and nobody spoke a word. It was a really bad day in the office. Then the emotional levels drop and you can start thinking clear again.”
Although he declined to reveal what was said, Jurgen Klopp did say he hoped they were productive things, and Liverpool were not looking to make excuses.
“I hope they were the right things,” he added. “It’s not the first time in my life I’m in this situation so that might be helpful. In situations like this, we have to be 100 per cent clear, not hiding behind anything, but respectful as well.
“We don’t go for excuses and that’s normal. We never did and we never will do and that was the Sunday.”
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