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Jurgen Klopp warns Liverpool players to prepare for season of rotation
Jurgen Klopp has warned his senior Liverpool stars not to feel too comfortable in their starting roles this season as he builds a squad that can sustain a rotation policy.
Klopp expects the competition for places at Anfield to be at its strongest since he joined the club, especially if he can add more new faces before the end of August.
His plan is to make more regular changes without compromising the style or quality of performances – something which has been impossible during his first two years.
And in a dig at those who criticised him for playing a weaker side in last year’s FA Cup, Klopp said ‘even Gary Lineker’ will be pleased with Liverpool’s new approach.
“If it stays like this. I would say you should perform if you want to play. I cannot decide this. It’s the performance that decides it,” he said.
“Hopefully we have the opportunity to do things like this (rotate). It’s always like this but only if you have the opportunity to change so hopefully we have it.
“What can I say? Will the squad change until the 31st August? Probably, maybe.
“We are not 100 per cent sure. Maybe nobody wants the players we have. On the other side maybe somebody wants to loan them or buy them. It’s pretty likely. The plan is in the end we have a squad that is big enough to cope with the intensity of all the tournaments. The first thing we have to do now, not just all the transfers, is to prepare for the Premier League and the Champions League qualifier. That’s my main target. Everything else is prepared. We know all about the players.
“The more important thing now is to get the players here now fit for the first games. That decides a lot and I really want to use a nice base.”
Since arriving at Anfield in 2015, Klopp’s preferred line-up has tended to be obvious, give or take one or two decisions.
Klopp was hammered for making more changes when Liverpool went out of the FA Cup to Wolverhampton Wanderers last January, using several Under-23 players. Lineker tweeted top managers were disrespecting the FA Cup by selecting second-string sides. Evidently, Klopp has not forgotten those jibes.
That defeat came at a time when injuries and the lack of availability of Sadio Mane because of the African Nations Cup stretched Klopp’s resources. He felt he had to prioritise Champions League qualification.
“We want to play in three or four competitions as long as even Gary Lineker is happy or whoever,” said Klopp.
“We want to play football for as long as possible and for this we need players. That’s the situation.”
Liverpool’s next addition is likely to be Andrew Robertson from Hull City, who is close to an £8 million deal.