Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp maintained that he was ready for the war after poor form led to speculation about his future and that he was going nowhere.
Jurgen Klopp insists, though firmly denying reports he might be prepared to walk away from Anfield, he and his Liverpool players are prepared to fight to change their form around.
With coronavirus travel restrictions stopping him from attending the funeral when his mother Elisabeth died last week, the 53-year-old also suffered a personal loss.
A group of Liverpool fans looked to unite behind Klopp, despite being held away from matches, by hanging a banner in his honour outside the Kop end of Anfield – a gesture he appreciated but felt was needless.
“The banner is nice, not necessary I don’t think. I don’t feel like I need special support at the moment [but] it’s nice, very nice,” he said ahead of Tuesday’s match, which has been moved to Budapest.
“What was the other thing? That I get the sack or leave by myself or what? Neither, nor. I don’t need a break.”
“The last thing I want to do is talk about a private thing in a press conference. Everyone knows that privately we [Klopp’s family] had a tough time. That wasn’t only for three weeks, that was a much longer time.”
“We always deal with it as a family 100 percent.”
“When I come here to the football club to work, I can split things. I can switch off. I don’t carry things around. If I’m private, I’m private. If I’m in my workplace, I’m here. Nobody has to worry about me.”
“I might not look like this because the weather’s not cool and the beard gets more and more grey, I don’t sleep a lot. That’s all true. But I’m full of energy.”
“The situation is a challenge. I don’t want the situation but, now we are in it, I see it as an interesting challenge.”
