Jurgen Klopp delivered a brutal reply when asked about Dietmar Hamann's assessment of his struggling Liverpool side.
The Reds have endured a poor start to the season, winning just two of their first eight Premier League fixtures. Klopp's side are 14 points behind leaders Arsenal - who defeated them 3-2 on Sunday - and 13 points behind defending champions Manchester City.
Liverpool also suffered a 4-1 defeat to Napoli in their opening Champions League campaign. A shock defeat to Rangers at Ibrox in their next fixture on Wednesday evening would increase the risk of last season's runners-up crashing out in the group stages.
There are some concerns Klopp's time in charge of Liverpool may have already reached its peak. The German celebrated his seventh anniversary at Anfield on Saturday, a spell which has seen him win seven trophies and reach three Champions League finals.
In his two previous managerial jobs, Klopp spent seven years at Borussia Dortmund and seven-and-a-half years at Mainz. Former Liverpool midfielder Hamann has questioned whether Klopp might leave in the near future because the team lacks a "spark".
When asked about Hamann's assessment at his pre-match press conference on Tuesday evening, Klopp said: "Oh great. A fantastic source, well respected everywhere."
Do you think Liverpool lack a "spark"? Let us know in the comments below!
The reporter then highlighted Hamann's Liverpool links, to which Klopp replied: "That does not give you the right to say what you want especially when you have no idea. I actually think Didi Hamann does not deserve that you use his phrase to ask a question. Do me a favour and ask your own question. Try to ask without using the word spark."
As quoted by The Sun, Hamann told talkSPORT: "As a big team, you’re always in transition, but they've been at the top of their capacities for the last three or four years. What they achieved and what they did last year was second to none.
"I don’t think that will be achieved again, to be within seven days of winning all four trophies [winning FA Cup and EFL Cup, finishing second in Premier League and Champions League] and I think that psychologically, it was always going to be tough this season.
"If you look at Arsenal in the second half, they were everything that Liverpool were four or five years ago. They were breath-taking going forward. Every time that they did go forward you felt that something was going to happen.
"This Liverpool team looks tired, they look pedestrian and they just look flat. I’m not sure where the spark is going to come from because they’ve won games in the past. They beat Rangers a few days ago [at Anfield] but they’re obviously far superior to Rangers.
"I trust that they’ll know where the spark is going to come from but whether it’s the end of an era? I wouldn’t write them off, but my imagination doesn’t let me see where the spark is going to come from in the next few weeks."
