Pressure is part and parcel of modern football, especially for a manager. And, as Jurgen Klopp is beginning to discover, even a lengthy career in the dugout doesn't make it any easier.
Liverpool are in danger of not only failing to qualify for the Champions League next season, but not being in Europe at all. It was an unthinkable prospect at the start of the campaign, but now one that seems a frightening possibility.
The defeat to Wolves at the weekend was the latest in a now-lengthy run of results which will worry everyone connected with the club. From the owners, to the manager, the players and the fans.
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Klopp took issue with one question during his press conference after the defeat at Molineux. That, along with Liverpool’s recent form, has led to increased suggestions the manager is having the most difficult spell of his Anfield tenure.
Former Liverpool midfielder Didi Hamann certainly agrees with that premise, anyway. Speaking to the ECHO, courtesy of Freebets.com, the German explained why he thinks his compatriot is beginning to feel the heat in the dugout.
“If you look at Klopp’s reactions at times I think he is under pressure," he said. "Expectations have got bigger, and we also have to mention that he managed with this team for four or five years at the top of their ability.
“What they have achieved is unbelievable, last season to be within a game-and-a-half of winning all four trophies may never be repeated, so they set the bar very high.
“I think it’s normal when you come to the end of a cycle when you have a team that, at some stage, it drops off.
“The questions will be, because I think they need five or six players in the summer - whether Klopp will have the money to spend, whether the owners will give him the money, and whether five or six players are enough, because they will have to get rid of quite a few players as well.
“So he is under pressure, I think he feels the pressure. I don't think the club will sack him because of his achievements in recent years.
“But when you sit 10th in the table, and when you concede for the first time in 30 years three times in three consecutive away matches, it’s certainly not satisfying, for him and for the hierarchy.”
There were suggestions from some sections of the media that Klopp has been ‘too loyal’ to some of his players, with the German rejecting such claims in a press conference earlier in the season. Hamann has defended Klopp in this regard, and explained why a lack of transfer funds has left the Liverpool boss will very little choice.
“Well if you haven’t got any money to spend then your hand is forced to be loyal,” said Hamann.
“I wouldn’t have a go at Klopp for being too loyal, because we don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes. Whether he wanted new players and the owners said no because they haven’t got any money and they’ll do it in the summer and not now.
“Loyalty doesn’t have to be a bad thing, and if you can’t bring new players in then sometimes you have to be loyal because you have to play the players who are there.”
The Reds are currently in a bad run of form, following their defeat to Wolves at the weekend. That result leaves Liverpool in 10th place in the Premier League table, and without a win in their last four top flight fixtures.
Hamann made 283 appearances during his time as a Liverpool player. The 49-year–old has explained what he thinks is wrong with the current side, and why other teams are finding it “easy” to get results against them.
“Things do seem to be going from bad to worse,” said Hamann.
“Other teams do to Liverpool what they used to do to them. Liverpool used to bully teams, they were just relentless in their intensity, game management, not giving many chances away and being clinical in front of goal.
“It’s just too easy to make it hard for Liverpool at the moment. If you’re physical against them, if you stand up to them, they don’t seem to have any answers. And that’s a frightening thought with games against Everton, Newcastle, Crystal Palace and Manchester United coming up. So it doesn't look good.”
Hamann believes a lot of the players look “physically and mentally tired”, which as a result has created an “impossible” task for Jurgen Klopp.
“Well obviously the manager needs an awful lot of money to be able to fix things, and so far he hasn’t managed to do that,” said Hamann, when asked how things can be improved.
“The players look physically and mentally tired, and to get freshness back in the team during the season is almost impossible.
“The biggest hope for me is when Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz come back from injury, who have been good and very important players for the team.
“But if you look at the back when you play with Joe Gomez, he hasn’t really progressed. Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott, they’ve got a lot of players who haven’t improved in the last few years. If you look at the players they’ve got in midfield, I’m not sure too many of them should be there next season.
“I think it will be a long season and a long three or four months for Liverpool, because I don’t see things getting better in the short term. Things might get worse before they get better. They just have to hope these players come back, and maybe you get another round in the Champions League if you knock Real Madrid out, but that will be hard.”
Amid the lack of transfer business and poor run of form, there is talk in the background about the club’s long-term future with regards to its ownership. FSG are open to further investment, and even possibly a full sale if the right valuation is met by interested parties.
Despite this uncertainty, Hamann believes that such speculation should not be affecting the players. But did say that Klopp has good reason to have other things on his mind amid the takeover talk.
“As a player, you’re not bothered by talk of a takeover,” said Hamann. “Because you have a contract with the club and not with the owners. Even if there’s no sale, the club will still exist; and if there is a sale, then the club will still exist, too. And sometimes it can be a good thing.
“The owners get a lot of stick, but I think they have been very good owners because they have managed to not burn money and are still investing enough for Klopp to build a competitive side.
“Obviously, it’s a chance if new owners come in, maybe they say they will spend a lot of money. But if you look at Chelsea spending a lot of money, it doesn’t score you goals and it doesn’t buy you titles.
“I don’t think the players will be affected by it, but Klopp might be because the takeover might dictate how much money he’s got to spend in the summer."
One player who Hamann has been critical of in the past is Thiago Alcantara. Since the midfielder moved to Anfield in 2020, Hamann has questioned the suitability of Thiago to Liverpool’s style of play.
With the topic of midfielders and the need for reinforcements on the agenda, Hamann has not held back with his verdict on the current options at Klopp’s disposal.
“Thiago Alcantara is a player that you have to be able to afford to have,” he added. “And if your team is not dominant in possession, then I don’t think you can carry him.
“He’s a player who doesn’t win you balls, he’s a player who doesn’t assist goals and he’s a player who doesn’t score goals.
“So my criticism was always - what does he actually do? I know he’s brilliant on the eye and he’s easy to watch, but last season he had three or four assists and scored one goal in the Premier League. He’s not a defensive midfielder, he doesn’t know how to tackle and he doesn’t win you the ball.
“At the moment, in Harvey Elliott you’ve got a player who’s talented and you’ve got to give him the chance to be able to develop. Fabio Carvalho hardly gets a look in.
“Fabinho has been off-colour, and he’s really been the linchpin of that team. Jordan Henderson is in and out of the team, James MIlner is coming to the end of his career, and Curtis Jones hasn’t really progressed.
“So if you ask me out of all these players, who would I like to see at the club next season? I would say that I would keep the young ones, because you have to give them the chance to improve or progress.
"If you look at the midfield, how many of those players would get into the squad of some of the top four teams?
“Arsenal, Newcastle, even Manchester United - how many of these players would get into their squad? I’m not sure there would be too many.”
Part of Liverpool’s malaise in recent weeks has been a lack of goals. Since the resumption of club football following the World Cup, the Reds have only scored six goals in six Premier League matches. Three of those came against Aston Villa on Boxing Day, while two were own goals from Wout Faes against Leicester at the end of December.
In Liverpool’s last three league matches, they have not scored a single goal. As a result, criticism has been aimed at the likes of Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez.
Gakpo has played six times since his £40m move from PSV Eindhoven in January, while Nunez has scored once in his last seven appearances. Hamann believes both players need time to adapt to English football, using his own experience as an example.
“If Darwin Nunez would be able to convert some of his chances, he would be one of the best centre forwards in the world,” claimed Hamann. “Whether he can improve or how much he can, I’m not too sure. He had a chance on Saturday against Wolves where he just smashed the ball - this was a centre-half’s finish.
“I expect a guy, who cost so much money, to have a bit of finesse and guile and he doesn’t show it.
“Whether he can improve or can learn it, I’m not too sure as I’ve never been a centre forward, but he has to improve his finishing. Because if you get chances and don’t convert them, then all of the hard work is for nothing.
“So I wouldn’t be too critical, but he has to improve. His all-round game is good, he’s got lightning pace for a big fella, has a physical presence and I like him as a player. But he doesn’t score enough.”
Hamann added: “Cody Gakpo wouldn’t be the first player who needs a few months to adapt to the English game, so we just have to wait and see.
“But when I saw where he plays now, I thought that he might play a bit deeper and be the centre forward, or behind Nunez. He plays out wide at times, or he plays as a centre forward. I’m not sure if he can cut it there, but we have to wait and see.
“I know from personal experience, I needed a few months to adapt to the English game. It’s different, it’s a lot quicker. For now, I will sit on the fence with Gakpo.”
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