The reason why Liverpool have banned The Sun from Anfield and its Melwood training ground explained
Jürgen Klopp has said he is responsible for Liverpool’s mid-season nose dive and has warned that neither infighting nor “bathing in self-pity” will put the team back on course for Champions League qualification.
The Liverpool manager dreams of winning the final 14 matches of the season – starting with Tottenham Hotspur’s visit to Anfield on Saturday – but “knows how that sounds” following a demoralising run of one win in 10 matches. The team’s rapid regression from Premier League title contention to fifth in the table, 13 points adrift of Chelsea, has invited widespread criticism with the lack of January signings, owners Fenway Sports Group and a perceived shortage of leaders on the pitch all under scrutiny. But Klopp, who tellingly said on Friday, “we are still convinced it is a long-term project”, insists the blame rests with him.
Klopp has told his players it is conceivable they can win all their remaining league matches to secure qualification for the Champions League. “I don’t have to think that it is possible, it is possible,” he said. “That is how football is. We have 14 games and it is possible to win 14 games. The players know, I told them. They heard me. If they know and feel it we will see.”
Liverpool, for all the despondency surrounding recent results, are unbeaten in matches against their top six rivals this season, with their defeats coming against Hull, Swansea City, Bournemouth and Burnley. Klopp believes misfortune has also played a part in his team slipping out of the top four, albeit only four points behind second-placed Spurs.
“You cannot be champions without luck and we had the opposite of luck until now,” he said. “If you have luck you don’t talk about it. If you don’t have luck you are not allowed to talk about it. Between us here, we didn’t have luck. Injuries in the wrong moment, referee’s decisions, offside or not, goals conceded, penalties not given and what not. To judge the squad this season is only possible if you keep Phil [Coutinho] at the highest level because that is what Chelsea have – they are going through the season with 13 or 14 players max.
“We didn’t do everything right in games, that is true, but it is not as bad as how it looks. We have to learn for next season and there still will be a next season. Life is not as bad as it looks at the moment. It is football and we can sort it.”
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