Republic of Ireland assistant manager Roy Keane has told Liverpool fans to "lighten up".
Keane took a swipe at the Reds last week, having been left distinctly unimpressed despite their Champions League win over Maribor.
The ex-Manchester United captain said they were "drifting nowhere" under Jurgen Klopp and stated he wouldn't watch them if they were playing in his back garden.
Keane's claims led to a something of a split among the club's supporters, with some furious at his claims and some questioning whether they are indeed making progress under Klopp.
Asked about the claims on Tuesday, as he prepares for Ireland's World Cup playoff with Denmark later this week, Keane responded: "It was tongue in cheek.
"Anyone who has ever spoken to me about football will tell you the huge respect I have for Liverpool. I grew up watching them in the 80s winning leagues every year.
"My comments were tongue in cheek and hopefully people will see it that way. People should lighten up a little."
In his role as Martin O'Neill's No.2 Keane is hoping to secure a place in Russia at next year's World Cup.
But he is wary of the threat posed by Tottenham's Christian Eriksen.
"How do you stop him? Good question," said Keane.
"Hopefully we'll have players in the team who know what to do with him. You don't want to give him time and space, although the really good players create that anyway.
"We've come up against good players before and have found a way to stop them, that's one of the challenges we face here.
"You have to get the balance right, you can't under-estimate yourselves. We have to get close to these players, you have to be aggressive in possession and out of possession. If you give these players time on the ball they'll hurt you.
"We did well to get near Gareth Bale in certain areas of the pitch in Dublin and we'll have to do that with Eriksen.
"But this is what you're born to do, face these challenges and get on with it."