Jurgen Klopp admits that incoming Newcastle United coach Mark Leyland will have plenty of inside information that could be used against his side at Anfield tomorrow night.
However, he insisted he was never going to stand in the 36-year-old's way when he submitted a request to leave Liverpool for the North-East.
Klopp was full of praise for the new Toon analyst/coach and feels he can further his career at St James' Park under Eddie Howe.
Go here for the latest Newcastle United news and updates
Klopp said: "Mark was here longer than I was here.
"He was an incredibly important member of staff.
"He is a post-match analyst and the work he did with the players was top.
"He had the chance to get a role at Newcastle that we could not offer here.
"Top guy. But he had the chance to get a more senior role at Newcastle and he was eager to make the next step in his career."
Klopp said Liverpool chiefs opted against delaying his move amid suggestions that it could hurt them at Anfield against the Magpies.
He said: "We could have said you can only start in three or four weeks.
"But in this world at the moment, football world, everybody knows everything.
"Mark does not know our line-up for the Newcastle game but he knows how we play football.
"Anybody with a football brain knows how we play football so there are not too many secrets anymore.
"We were happy to let him use this opportunity, good people should be treated in a good way and that's what we did with Mark."
Vote for your NUFC Player of 2021 via the interactive form below
