Jürgen Klopp: “We Have to Be Ready to Fight”

A strong and exciting squad has been assembled at Liverpool. The attacking talent that Jürgen Klopp has to work with is outstanding. Sadio Mané, Roberto Firmino, and Mohamed Salah can be considered among the best forwards in the world right now. The midfield was already one of the hardest working but with the additions of Naby Keita and Fabinho, Liverpool are expected to have an engine in the middle of the pitch to envy. So, too, in defense where solidity at the back came on strong once Virgil Van Dijk signed in January. Now, bolstered by the world-record-breaking Alisson in goal, Klopp has assured it will be difficult for teams to put one into Liverpool’s net.

Confidence is high but so are the expectations. With the money spent over the summer, it’s clear that Liverpool are ready and hoping to storm the Premier League table this season as well as the Champions League and any domestic competitions they decide to throw our way.

But Klopp is undaunted by the pressures of the media or supporter’s anxieties on the eve of the new season.

“My own expectations are always pretty high,” said Klopp, “make the best of it, get everything out of it, try to reach the highest – that’s my expectation.

“For us it was pretty normal that there would be one point where we spend a bit more money, for the past few years I pretty much had to sit here and defend our ‘transfer behaviour’ that we sold more than we brought in, but that all made sense.

“We had to create a squad which is strong enough and wide enough to cope with the Premier League and to be as successful as possible. Step by step, we come closer.

“People ask me if its the best squad I’ve had or whatever, I don’t think about that because it’s not about what we have now but what we make of it. How often we deliver, how we bring ourselves in a mood to fight against all these Premier League teams, who all want our points. We have to be ready to fight and that’s it.”

Last season showed that Klopp has already instilled that winning determination into his squad. Come out fighting, give everything until the final whistle. The new players are arriving into that mentality and will learn quickly what it really means to play Liverpool’s all-action style of football for 90 minutes.

Three points on Sunday against West Ham would be a fantastic start to a highly-anticipated season that should see Liverpool fighting for silverware on all fronts.

Source: liverpooloffside.sbnation.com