Trouble in paradise… but Jurgen loves it! Klopp admits he has ‘not happy’ players in his Liverpool squad amid a selection dilemma, but says he wants to ‘keep them ANGRY’ to strengthen his side even more
- Liverpool are second in the Premier League but are still unbeaten this season
- Jurgen Klopp made 11 changes to side for the Preston midweek cup clash
- Klopp admitted it is impossible for all his squad to be happy with game time
Jurgen Klopp has admitted he has a fine balancing act in keeping his players happy as he looks to maintain Liverpool’s unbeaten start to the Premier League season.
He made 11 changes to the side who beat Manchester United 5-0 for the Carabao Cup win over Preston and is expected to make major swaps again as Brighton come to Anfield on Saturday.
The German admitted he has players who are unhappy with the amount of minutes they have received so far, despite Liverpool’s excellent start to the campaign.
Jurgen Klopp has admitted it is hard to keep all of the players in his Liverpool squad happy
Klopp made 11 changes as Liverpool defeated Preston 2-0 in the Carabao Cup in midweek
‘I don’t think it’s possible and I don’t think I did it,’ Klopp said when asked if he has kept all his squad members happy. ‘You should ask all the players in the squad.
‘We have to win every game and when you are in football you have to learn early to accept what decision the meager makes. That doesn’t mean they are happy but they accept it.
‘I don’t try to keep them happy. Yes I want them all to be happy but I want them to be angry as well when we play an opponent who wants our points.’
One player in question is Joe Gomez, who has returned to fitness after a major knee injury last year but appears to have fallen down the pecking order to fourth-choice centre-back, in part due to the arrival of Ibrahima Konate in the summer.
Gomez captained Liverpool in their 2-0 win over Preston in midweek but Virgil van Dijk is expected to return for Brighton alongside either Konate or Joel Matip.
‘It was always clear but we had to react in our situation and bring in another defender,’ Klopp said. ‘And you see Nate Phillips, a completely different player to a year ago.
‘Joey, it’s hard, we have to deal with Joey – intensity, stuff like that. We are not even halfway through the season and we talk about things like this.
Joe Gomez appears to have fallen down the pecking order since returning from a knee injury
Ibrahima Konate started in the 5-0 win over Manchester United and is vying to keep his place
‘That is a footballer’s life, you have to be on top of your game for the moment you come in and then you come in and have yo convince everybody.
‘The five all get on and respect each other, we know Joe’s quality. We have only top class players in that position and that makes it a bit harder when you are not in the line-up up but that is football, you have to keep working really hard for your moment to come.’
Liverpool will be without Fabinho for Saturday’s clash with Brighton but Naby Keita should be fit to play, despite leaving the Old Trafford pitch on a stretcher after a challenge from Paul Pogba that saw the midfielder red-carded.
Thiago Alcantara is also expected to miss out despite featuring in his first team training session on Thursday.
Naby Keita is expected to feature against Brighton despite going off on a stretcher at United
But the Brighton match might arrive too soon for the returning Thiago Alcantara
‘Keita looks good,’ Klopp said. ‘We were all surprised, he was obviously lucky but I think he will be ready.
‘Fabinho doesn’t look that good, it looks complicated, not too complicated but enough to keep him out. I await news but not in team training and that is not a good sign.
‘Thiago was in team training but for the first time so it doesn’t mean he is ready for a football game. We will see what we do with that.’
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