Former Liverpool defender Lawrenson was asked about Jurgen Klopp‘s demeanour and why things aren’t quite going right for the Reds.
Mark Lawrenson believes Jurgen Klopp might be finding it difficult to get messages through to his Liverpool squad, due to how long the players have been with him at Anfield.
The former Reds defender and pundit explained that when players have been together with a manager for “three, four or five years” then there can become a point where they simply think they’ve heard it all before.
He outlined how good Sir Alex Ferguson was at bringing fresh talent through the door at Old Trafford in order to keep his squad on their toes and always under his command.
“There’s one thing about all the players at Liverpool – they absolutely respect him [Klopp],” Lawrenson told Off The Ball.
“All the players he’s brought in, he’s made them better and you don’t suddenly have no respect for your manager, it’s just a little bit more difficult when you’re losing games because everyone tends to doubt everything – themselves as players, the manager.
“There’s no problem there with the players, they absolutely love him. They’ve been outstanding for three seasons but I think sometimes with managers, players can sit there thinking ‘same old’ in terms of what they say. But when you’re there for three, four or five years – it can be that”.
I go back to Sir Alex Ferguson, he was very clever in turning players in and bringing players in. They’re always your own players then. It’s a massive difference if the squad you can pick from are all your own players, they have that extra bit of respect because you’ve decided to spend the money on them.
“I’ve watched Liverpool train and while it’s intense – they have a laugh. Klopp encourages that in everybody.”
Source: liverpoolecho.co.uk