All was rosy in the Liverpool garden when Jurgen Klopp signed his new contract last year.
The feelgood factor was already tangible around the club when Klopp and his staff officially put pen to paper on April 28.
Confirmation of the contract came just a day after Liverpool had made a sizable stride forward towards the Champions League final with a 2-0 win over Villarreal in the first leg of their semi-final tie and the news was made public less than a fortnight after securing a place in the FA Cup showpiece courtesy of a memorable performance against Manchester City on a red-hot day at Wembley.
“There is a freshness about us as a club still and this energises me," Klopp said at the time. "For as long as I have been here, our owners have been unbelievably committed and energetic about this club and it is clear that right now this applies to our future as much as I’ve ever known. In Billy Hogan and Julian Ward we have leaders throughout the club who are completely focused on renewal and refreshing so we can continue to compete at the very highest level.
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“When the owners brought the possibility of renewing to me, I asked myself the question I’ve mused over publicly: 'Do I have the energy and vibe to give of myself again what this amazing place requires from the person in the manager’s office?' I didn’t need too long to answer in truth. The answer was very simple…I’m in love with here and I feel fine!”
The reference to the anthem that had reverberated on the Liverpool terraces throughout the second half of last season was a cute sign-off from Klopp, but nine months to the day since that contract news was broken, the landscape that the manager now surveys has changed significantly.
While it appeared as though Liverpool's trajectory would only remain an upward one at the time, the drop-off this term has been startling and alarming in equal measure. Suddenly, Klopp is now tasked with the rescue of a once great side that has lurched closer and closer towards the cliff's edge since August. Questions are now rightly being asked over just how deep this malaise goes.
Ten points adrift in the race for the top four and way out in ninth, the Premier League campaign has been a difficult one to navigate during its first half, while a daunting meeting with Real Madrid again awaits them in the Champions League next month.
Even the thought of a trip to Brighton on Sunday in the FA Cup is enough to conjure up the unwanted images of a match Klopp labelled as his worst in 1000 games of management earlier this month when his confidence-sapped, injury-hit and energy-drained outfit were well beaten on the day 3-0.
One of the issues Klopp referenced prior to signing that new deal was whether or not he had the energy to continue devoting himself to the Liverpool cause for the next few years; The Reds boss, along with his wife Ulla, are due to become grandparents for the first time later this year and a job as exacting and demanding as the one at Anfield needs countless hours a week dedicated to it in order to be a success.
With a legacy that will stand up alongside the greatest of names at Liverpool, many might surmise that it would only be natural for the 55-year-old's energy levels to have waned given the nature of the campaign so far. Klopp, though, has shown few signs that any scrutiny, pressure or fatigue is getting to him in his dealings with the media.
As talk over ownership continues to rattle on in the background amid the uncertainty of Fenway Sports Group's long-term stewardship, what comes next will be instructive.
A new sporting director will need to be sourced in the wake of Julian Ward's impending summer exit, while quality additions to the squad will be needed later this year. Some of the building blocks towards the rebuild have already been put into place over the last 12 months in the form of Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez and Cody Gakpo, but this summer is going to need the kind of game-changing work undertaken in 2018 when Alisson Becker and Fabinho joined Virgil van Dijk, who had signed a few months earlier.
That particular year remains the highest-spending 12-month period of Liverpool's history as FSG committed close to £250m to bring in that trio alongside Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri. Half a decade on, a similar output will be needed to ensure the final third of the Klopp era can be as fruitful as the first two.
It's something he addressed himself in a recent podcast interview, saying: "I’m not saying it’s the biggest challenge, but [a rebuild] is a challenge, and it was one of the main reasons why I signed a new contract because I knew it’s necessary. There are obviously plenty of different ways you can do it, but it’s all based on the situation you are in, especially with the things happening around.
"Chelsea with the new ownership obviously, nobody knows exactly how they do it, how they can spend this much money. Other teams, nobody likes me talking about that... but transition needs time if you don’t have endless money, otherwise you can change overnight pretty much, bringing in 10 players."
If Klopp is correct and his particular Liverpool transition needs time, then the new deal has at least afforded him that, but he will need backing perhaps more than ever by those above him.
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