Klopp Talk: “From Now On They Are All Finals”

Jürgen Klopp is under no illusions about the position his team are in. After their poor start to the season, they sit in eighth place after nine games. Their next game is against West Ham. Usually West Ham in mid-October wouldn’t be a barn-burner, but now Liverpool are fighting an uphill battle.

“When you create a start like we created, there is a moment in the season when you realize, ‘OK, that means from now on they are all finals’ and that’s already a few weeks ago that we realized that,” he explained in the pre-match press conference.

Unfortunately, there’s more problems ahead for the Reds, because Diogo Jota is confirmed out until at least after the World Cup with a calf injury. That’s a huge mental blow for Jota, who will no longer be able to represent his country. It’s also a huge blow for Liverpool, who are already short-staffed as the new injuries seem to be outweighing the returns.

With the loaded schedule ahead of them through mid-November, it’s unlikely to get any easier to keep the remaining players healthy.

“I’m not sure we can give the West Ham game even more importance than we already put in because 100 per cent, there is a natural barrier. But yes, it’s very important, absolutely, and we respect them a lot,” Klopp said of their next opponents.

The game, at least, will be another one at home, so hopefully the fan support will help to get the Reds another three points to add to their impressive victory against Manchester City on Sunday.