Jurgen Klopp has looked ahead to Liverpool’s summer rebuild, accepting that “whatever we do,” it would never be enough for fans on social media.
The Reds are expected to be backed heavily in the transfer market this summer, which comes at a time when at least three midfielders will depart Anfield.
Naby Keita, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and loanee Arthur will leave on the expiry of their contracts, while a decision will be made over the future of James Milner, too.
With question marks over the likes of Fabio Carvalho and even the experienced trio of Fabinho, Jordan Henderson and Thiago, there could be an almighty reshuffle in the works.
But speaking in his extended press conference at the AXA Training Centre on Friday, Klopp suggested the club would not be as cut-throat as supporters on social media have urged.
“It’s good that, in this case, we make the decisions and we especially don’t let the people who write on social media make the decisions,” the manager said.
“Because that’s the only [opinion] you hear.”
He added: “If you go through social media and look there, you’d think there’s no bigger problem in the world than our midfield. I understand it, 100 percent.”
As Klopp continued, he laughed at his experiences with replies on social media, noting in particular the release of Liverpool’s teamsheet ahead of the 2-1 win over West Ham.
“Not a lot of them wanted Curtis on the pitch, not a lot of them wanted Cody on the pitch,” he said.
“When they saw that Joel Matip is playing everybody was ‘game off, I watch the other games’.
“People, they like us usually, it’s just I understand that this season makes people nervous. I understand that.
“We were not ourselves in big parts of the season. That’s it. But we still have to make good decisions.
“Not panic decisions and say ‘that’s it for them’, ‘he will never come back’, ‘he will never be able to play football’. That’s not how it is.
“That’s why I said, whatever we do in the summer, it will not be enough for the people in the first place. That’s how it is.
“But that’s the job: we have to make decisions on the things we know, and that’s exactly what we will do.”
It is evident that a handful of positive results – with Liverpool currently on a run of three consecutive wins and five games unbeaten – can change the mood among fans online.
That, too, can shift perceptions of players previously cast aside – such as Curtis Jones, who Klopp identified as one part of a group that showcases “potential.”
“Yes, we have a lot of potential in this team. We didn’t show it very often this year, but we have a lot of potential in this team,” he insisted.
“We will keep that, use that, improve that, and bring new players in. That’s both possible, I think.
“I’m really pleased. Harvey [Elliott] played big parts of the season, was for big spells our most consistent player. Curtis shows up now. Stefan [Bajcetic], I think, was a real revelation.
“But other players played good football as well. Not all of them are too old and stuff like this. You need experience in a team as well.
“We will be improved after pre-season.
“This year will help us as well, after all the other intense years, which were intense for different reasons.
“This was an intense one as well, but at least we didn’t play as much football – that’s something we have to use as well, we want to go back to big finals, to big occasions.
“For that, we have to work hard and a lot and we will do that. And we need the right players, and that’s what we will have as well.”
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