Jurgen Klopp believes that his three years at Liverpool can be termed a “success story”, despite the fact that the Reds are yet to win a trophy under his management.
Klopp implored Liverpool fans to turn from “doubters to believers” when he took over in 2015, and he has helped that to happen with his enterprising brand of football and a significant upturn in results, culminating in Liverpool reaching the Champions League final last season.
They lost 3-1 to Real Madrid in Kiev, their third defeat in a final under Klopp. But the German insists that the transformation he has overseen at Anfield is a triumph which goes beyond the trophy cabinet.
“We have created, for sure, a better atmosphere to work. When I came in, nobody liked the team – not even the team liked the team!” Klopp told Melissa Reddy in an interview for JOE.
“They didn’t say it, but they didn’t have to because I could see it. They thought they were not good enough to be in a Liverpool side because everybody gave them that feeling.
“Always in life we have to make the best of a situation so I came in and I was completely enthusiastic about the potential of this team and their quality, which gave the boys a little lift.
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“It was clear that we had to develop, and a lot of players that are key today were young.
“We had really different challenges with all the players, and of course, if you put our final defeats aside, which is actually not possible but let’s allow it still, then it is a success story and nothing else.”
At the time of his appointment, Klopp stated his intention to win the Premier League title within four years. Liverpool are currently level on points at the top of the league table with Manchester City and Chelsea.