Steven Gerrard on training and learning from Jurgen Klopp

February 12, 2016
Jack Lusby

Having spent three weeks of the MLS off-season training with the Liverpool squad at Melwood, Steven Gerrard has praised Jurgen Klopp‘s methods.

Gerrard left Liverpool to join LA Galaxy at the end of 2014/15, ending a 17-year spell in the Reds first team.

But, as a boyhood Red, the 35-year-old retains a strong affection for the club and the city, and joined up with Klopp’s squad to maintain his fitness during the MLS off-season.

This saw Gerrard welcomed by a new manager in Klopp, and nearing the end of his playing career with one eye on a future coaching role, the midfielder said he “took a lot away” from his time at Melwood.

“Tactically, I tried to pick up what he wanted to get out of every player in the team,” he told Melissa Reddy of Goal.com.

“I tried to analyse what would be the qualities he wants to make a successful Jurgen Klopp team.

“I stuffed in as much as I could learn as possible.

“From just those two to three weeks training with the team and doing gym work at Melwood, I could clearly see his principles and how he wants the team to play in the future.”

Klopp’s arrival has prompted a change in emphasis both in training and on the field of play, but Liverpool have so far endured muted form under the German.

Gerrard explained how this was to be expected, with his former team-mates needing time to settle into the former Borussia Dortmund manager’s approach.

“Watching the team, I can already see the aspects that are coming off from what we worked on in training but the whole picture will take time,” he continued.

“We’ve got to be patient and give the manager a chance to bring his own players in and have a full pre-season with the team.

“It’s always going to take six-to-12 months for everyone to get used to each other and his exact way of working.

“With just a little bit of patience, I’m sure he’ll be a very successful manager for us and I wish him every bit of luck in the world.”

Gerrard is heading into his second MLS campaign with the Galaxy, but hinted that “there may be one more challenge for me.”

This is unlikely to come in Los Angeles, as the Whiston-born star’s bond with Merseyside is clear; though he won’t return to Liverpool in a playing capacity, a future role alongside Klopp is not beyond the realms of possibility.