Jurgen Klopp reveals impatience over summer transfers and explains why he signed new Liverpool contr

Jurgen Klopp has admitted Liverpool’s season was always going to be ‘tricky’ which is why he signed a new contract to rebuild the club.

The German was speaking after a 5-2 loss to Real Madrid in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie, essentially ending any trophy hopes for the season.

Liverpool are already out of the Carabao Cup and FA Cup, which they won last year, and now are look set to head out of Europe early.

To get back there, things need to improve in the Premier League too, with the Reds eighth in the table and seven points from the top four.

Last season Liverpool finished one point from the title, as well as making the Champions League final in Paris, but Klopp admitted he knew this campaign would always be a struggle.

“Last year I said I knew it would be tricky,” he explained. “It’s one of the main reasons why I signed a new contract. 

“Not because I am that great, just because imagine that situation with another coach, everybody would’ve said ‘bring Klopp back’ and now it’s good, we don’t have that.

“It’s about the club and its stability and what we can bring in, last year was not a season for a big change, we played until the last moment, and if you want to change this club, you can’t just bring in players and then realise later ‘oh nobody wants to leave’ it doesn’t work like that.

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“It’s not possible to start it early because we had final after final after final, then we have a short break, then we have a lot of injuries then the World Cup.

“So all the problems we knew we’d have, then this came on top.”

Last summer saw Liverpool replace Sadio Mane with Darwin Nunez, while Cody Gakpo was added in January.

The humbling defeat to Madrid showed there are also plenty of recurring issues in midfield and defence, and Klopp was honest, saying he’s impatient about fixing them in the transfer market.

“I know it’s too long and for me it’s too long,” he said. “I have to face you in this press conference all the time and I don’t like to talk about it all the time. I have to think about it all the time.

“That’s the situation, I cannot change it, now people aren’t happy, we tried to fight through and make the best of this season.

“We have to make our own plans but based on the way this club is led, it’s obviously different to other clubs, so that’s how it is, but it’s worked out so far so we will have to see if it will work still or if we have to adapt.

“It’s not like ‘today was not good and now we have to change’.

“This is clear, it’s always clear that this team has a wonderful history and the way this club is led, by not splashing the money and just having a look if it worked out or not.

“Our transfers always have to be on point so that makes it really tricky, we cannot make four transfers before we know who will leave the club.”

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