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LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - Wednesday, September 15, 2021: Liverpool's manager Jürgen Klopp after the UEFA Champions League Group B Matchday 1 game between Liverpool FC and AC Milan at Anfield. (Pic by UEFA)

Jurgen Klopp not worried about “secrets” as Liverpool coach joins Newcastle

Jurgen Klopp has bid farewell to analyst Mark Leyland, and while he joked about him joining Newcastle days before they visit Liverpool, he insisted he’d have no “secrets.”

Leyland has vacated his role as head of post-match and elite player development analysis this week to take over as a first-team coach analyst at Newcastle.

He joins Eddie Howe’s coaching staff in what is seen as a step up in his career, but the timing of his move to St James’ Park could have come into question considering Liverpool host the Magpies on Thursday night.

However, speaking on Leyland’s switch in his pre-match press conference, Klopp insisted that he was “happy to let him use this opportunity.”

Furthermore, the manager stressed that while Leyland could use his experience at Liverpool to his advantage ahead of the game, there were no “secrets” when it came to how his side plays.

“Mark was here longer than I was here, he was an incredibly important member of our staff with his post-match and individual analysis,” Klopp said.

“The analysis he did for the players, with the players, and a top guy on top of that.

NEWCASTLE-UPON-TYNE, ENGLAND - Saturday, October 19, 2013: Liverpool and Newcastle United supporters during the Premiership match at St. James' Park. (Pic by David Rawcliffe/Propaganda)

“But he had the chance to get a more senior role at Newcastle, which we couldn’t offer here, and he was eager to make the next step in his career.

“We could have said ‘you can only start in three or four weeks’, but in this world in the moment, the football world, everyone knows everything anyway – apart from the lineup, and Mark doesn’t know our lineup for tomorrow!

“He knows how we play football, but I think if anyone with a football brain has a closer look they will know how we play football.

“There’s now not too many secrets anymore.

“We were happy to let him use this opportunity, and it is an opportunity for him. Good people should be treated in a good way, and that’s what we did with Mark.”