Having left Borussia Dortmund on amicable terms, Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp remains a firm favorite at the Westfalenstadion with players, the new manager and even the club’s hierarchy all backing the German to succeed on Merseyside.
“Jurgen needs time. He brings good spirit to the team and the whole club,” said Hans-Joachim Watzke, the chief executive of the Bundesliga side. “His competence is to give spirit to the club. But he needs time. Two or three years is the must. The next step will be to restore Liverpool to the Champions League. That’s not so easy,” he explained. “People at Liverpool, the owners, believe in him and he has the time. It’s better now to beat Manchester City and lose to Swansea than vice versa. It’s easier to find the style to beat Swansea than to beat Man City. Jurgen is a fantastic coach and if the owners of Liverpool believe in Jurgen they will have success,” continued the German entrepreneur, before adding, “But he’s not Harry Potter nor Merlin. He’s a coach who does hard work.”
Securing a return to Europe’s most prestigious club competition is easier said than done, but Liverpool have a real chance of qualifying by winning the Europa League. A crucial tie in the Round of 16 with age old foes Manchester United is just around the corner, and though success on the continent would be a lovely way for Klopp to kick off his first season on Merseyside, his predecessor in Brendan Rodgers has confirmed that a Premier League title is on the top of the owners wishlist.
“They have a very good manager in Jurgen Klopp in place,” said the Northern Irishman. “It’s going to take time to bed in his methods and how he wants to work. He has some very good players there,” he continued. “The expectancy of course is to win the league, we went very close in my time and obviously Jurgen will go in and feel that he can improve on that and that’s why the owners made the change,” mused Rodgers. “They felt they wanted to improve and to improve on runners-up would be to win the league but it is going to take time. I’m sure the owners will give him that time.”
