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In wholly unsurprising news, Jürgen Klopp did not arrive at Liverpool and immediately turn Brendan Rodgers' old team into a motley band of winners. His arrival did herald a definite change in attitude amongst the players, and though they were able to scrape a draw against Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, Klopp knows his players have a lot more in them to leave on the pitch.
"I am not sure how many games you saw like this from Adam Lallana," Klopp said after the match. "What do you think? I know him from Southampton and he can do 20%-30% more. Coutinho? Do you not think he can play better football than [on Saturday]? Of course, he can.
"Lucas? You don’t think he can play balls on the right and left side? He can. Emre Can? Learning between running and passing. He can learn. Milner? The complete football player, the perfect professional, a machine, everything is there."
From most other managers, it would sound like Klopp was singling out his players and throwing them under the bus. From the charismatic German, though, it comes across not as criticism but a statement of confidence as to how good he knows his players are and how much further they can develop.
It goes hand in hand with his earlier stated beliefs that he's already inherited a good squad, it's just a matter of making them perform at a higher level as a team. If Tottenham provided a good window into Liverpool's potential under Klopp, his first home match on Thursday night against Rubin Kazan in Europa League should only build on that early success.
