Liverpool 2.0 is already beginning to take shape and while the Reds are still a work in progress, after a solid enough start to the new season results-wise, Jürgen Klopp has been explaining why he feels rejuvenated. The German is ready to build his next great side at Anfield and that is the best possible news for Reds fans to hear.
What’s happened?
Liverpool boss Klopp has outlined his excitement for the next steps that his new-look side will take over the coming weeks, beginning another tough run of fixtures with this weekend’s home game against West Ham United.
After revamping his midfield department over the summer with the signings of Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai, Wataru Endō and Ryan Gravenberch, Klopp is now ready for the next stage of the process.
More changes are starting XI expected to be made against West Ham this weekend after Liverpool made a full 11 swaps for its win over LASK. Mac Allister and Szoboszlai are expected to come back in while Gravenberch limped off with cramp and would have been likely to drop to the bench regardless.
What’s been said?
“I enjoy it at the moment. From the first day that we are back, I enjoyed it. I’m really excited about the rebuild and really excited about the new way and the new energy,” Klopp explained in his press conference, recorded in advance because of the Europa League clash with LASK on Thursday.
“We already decided last year that we had to change and lot and we wanted to change for good and not because we have to. I’m really excited about that. We are not there yet. We are not stable yet. But we are a lot of things already. We had a lot of exciting moments in games already and that is a good start.”
It is clear that Klopp is enjoying the rebuilding process and Liverpool has the best person in charge for that to take place. The early signs have been very positive.
“[The Aston Villa game] was a really, really good game,” Klopp continued. “Two weeks later, after the international break, we played a really, really bad first half.
“It is part of the deal and when you want to change, you cannot expect that everything clicks from the first moment. That is important. It is a glimpse of what we can be because we don’t know. It was a really good sign that we are going in the right direction.
“I cannot make any estimate at all how it will look in the next four or five weeks, but we work extremely hard to make it as strong as possible. We have so many strong opponents; West Ham is one of them and a really exciting project as well and I’m happy for David (Moyes) that was able to build this team over a few years.”
What does it mean?
For this weekend, Liverpool just needs to showcase more of the same. The performances have not been 100 per cent perfect so far but the results have been good and Klopp was right to pick out the dominant win over Aston Villa.
That is the level that Liverpool needs to reach consistently over the course of the next few weeks. It will help against West Ham that Mac Allister is now recovered after the international break, while Szoboszlai and Curtis Jones are likely to be reinstalled alongside him.
In the longer term, it is a massive boost that Klopp feels so refreshed and ready to go again at Anfield. After the drag of last season, he has found a new wave of optimism and is ready to kick on. That, more than anything else, is the reason that Liverpool fans should be excited. If Klopp is raring to go, that is a pretty sure sign that things are heading down the right path.
