Jurgen Klopp will forego Christmas break to strive to improve Liverpool

Jurgen Klopp spoke to Sky Sports in an exclusive interview about the season ahead for Liverpool, where Naby Keita and Fabinho stand in the squad and how he isn’t going to have a big Christmas break this year.

Liverpool are really struggling in the Champions League this year in a direct contrast to the exhilarating European campaign from last season.

The Reds have lost every single away game in Europe this season and in fact, are yet to win a game in the tournament since the 5-1 mauling of AS Roma at Anfield in April.

Yet, Klopp’s side is second in the Premier League table, have conceded just five goals and are unbeaten but the manager says he understands supporters’ frustration at the change from being an all out attacking team to one concentrated on finding a healthy balance.

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“In the moment when the defence is not good everyone says you need to fix it,” says Klopp. “The moment you fix it, everybody says, yeah, but what about the rest of it? It is always like this.

“A lot of teams saw that we were good at that and realised they were overplaying. If the team gives us the opportunity to do it we will still be there with the counter-press. But very often it is not possible.

“A lot of teams also play counter-attack against us. They don’t have the same respect for us that they have for Man City, for example.

“Against City, you watch it and wonder what they are doing. A week later they play us and they are thinking, right, let’s try. City deserve that but it makes a big difference because we have to be 100 per cent concentrated all the time.

“It means that now we have to control more games. We have to keep the ball, especially against counter-attacking sides. That may change in the second part of the season when opponents who are down the table need the points and so they will need to open up a bit more.

“But at this moment we have to control games and be patient but in a very lively way.

“This was a big part of our thinking in pre-season as well. We really said that. It’s like we were so lively in the past that the moment we couldn’t be lively because there was no space for that it was like there was immediately this drop in concentration.

That is not allowed. I like it more now actually. It is more mature. That was the next step for us. So far so good.”

When Klopp was asked about where Keita and Fabinho are in their adaptation to his style of play, the German replied: “We will have to work for it because it is not like you can throw players on the pitch and just tell them to do it.

“It doesn’t work. It didn’t work with Fabinho. It did work really well with Naby in the beginning, but then he got an injury and the team did really well. If things are working then you keep them.

“That gives the other players even more time to adjust to all the things around them, in the league, in the club and all this stuff. There will come the time when they are playing and nobody will remember that there were three or four games at the beginning when they weren’t playing. So, of course, there is potential there to improve.

“It is a pretty young side too. One that is not experienced in winning anything so far. Our big opponents are the champions, the champions from a year ago, the FA Cup winner from a year ago and so on. All these teams are challenging you and we need to find our own way. We know it will never be easy and this period coming up will be really intense.”

Klopp also added that he doesn’t expect to have a lengthy Christmas celebration this year, saying: “My missus asked me when I am having a day off and I don’t see it.

“I had to make the plans quite a long time ahead and I didn’t see a day off. Not this year. We cannot go home to Germany. I will be at home in Liverpool but Christmas will be celebrated in hours not days.”

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Source: anfieldhq.com