Jurgen Klopp has revealed that following Saturday's disappointing 2-3 loss to Premier League strugglers Swansea City, the Liverpool players were called in for a long 'clear-the-air' meeting the following day.
Speaking ahead of Liverpool's EFL Cup semi-final second leg with Southampton on Wednesday
[via The Guardian], Klopp explained that he was thinking that his players were getting their sharpness back after what he admitted was a difficult Christmas period, but following the result against Swansea he felt the need to address some of his concerns.
We had a very intense period around Christmas and new year. Fair enough, so did everybody else, but before the Swansea game I actually thought we were back on the right track, with the freshness coming back. But what I spoke most about was enjoying what we do.
We are Liverpool, a really good football-playing side, and we don’t enjoy the job we have to do. It is not as though we are a team at the bottom of the league that has to defend 80% or 90% of the time. In most of our games we are dominant, so we have to enjoy this, even when we don’t come through after five minutes.
As well as seeing a smile return to his players' faces Klopp was eager to touch on a number of defensive issues he had noticed in the manner of the goals that his side were conceding.
We scored two goals, enough to win the game, but I felt the defending could be improved. I also think the goals we have conceded in 2017 have been a little bit of the same story. The influence of throw-ins is a bit too big, for instance, so we spoke about that.
But when it came to the issue of Joel Matip's unavailability, something that pundits and fans alike have pointed to as a reason for dropped points, Klopp was having none of it as he feels that a club the size of Liverpool cannot rely on one player so heavily.
We are a big club, it is not allowed to say you miss one player. Sometimes there’s a single mistake, but most of the time it is seven or eight players who could have done something differently. That’s how we understand it.
It’s not about one player. We really have to do better as a defensive unit. That was one of the things we discussed in our long meeting after the Swansea game, and I think we are all ready for the rest of the season now. The feeling around the club is not quite as positive as it was, and it’s our job to bring that positivity back.
That sounds positive for Liverpool fans going forward.
The fact that he and his players know what the problems are, and are comfortable enough to not only have the meeting in the first place but to publicly discuss it shows that they are confident that the meeting was productive.
With the likes of Matip and Henderson returning to the side, Liverpool's defensive solidity will no doubt be improved, but while they will be very keen to get back to Premier League action and put the Swansea game behind them, their first task is to progress in the EFL Cup despite a one-goal defecit from the first leg.
Should they do that, then it very much looks like a Wembley meeting with Manchester United will be on the cards.
