Klopp's assistant calls for 'last dance' together

Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders has called for the club to bring the curtain down on Jurgen Klopp's nine-year reign with a "last dance", adding that the coaching staff first felt their time at the club was coming to an end last summer.

Liverpool are determined to end the final months with coach Jurgen Klopp with a "quadruple".

The Merseyside club confirmed last week that Lijnders, along with assistants Peter Krawietz and Vitor Matos, will join Klopp in leaving Liverpool at the end of the season. All three are key members of Klopp's coaching staff, and the German has recently highlighted the contribution of Lijnders in particular and his role in implementing Liverpool's attractive style of football over the years.

“It’s not easy to leave a club like this. But in life, I always feel you have to do the right thing and the right thing is that this summer we can say we gave our all to complete the ‘last dance’. We want to make it as good as possible,” Lijnders said in an interview with Liverpool’s website. “We don’t know how the season will end but we know that the project is coming to an end. I feel that with the support of the ownership, signing the right players, we will go back to basics.”

Lijnders, who joined Anfield in 2014 as an academy coach, before joining the first team following Klopp's appointment the following year, has since played a key role in the development of academy talent including top-flight full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold.

The Dutchman left Liverpool in early 2018 to take over at NEC Nijmegen, but after a brief five-month spell in his homeland, Klopp offered him a senior role behind the scenes and brought him back to the club. In the time since, Liverpool have won six trophies – including the Champions League in 2019 and the following year their first English title in 30 years.

Assistant Pep Lijnders wants Liverpool to bring the curtain down on Jurgen Klopp's nine-year reign in the most dramatic way.

“I think Klopp is a friend, a brother, a true football brother. We have been through a lot here: good times, bad times. I have complete trust, we have complete trust in each other, that’s why it has worked,” Lijnders said. “The way he gives me the freedom to lead the team, design the training sessions, make tactical decisions, that says it all, doesn’t it? It’s sad to see us go but I’m excited for what’s ahead.”

Lijnders, who often deputises for Klopp at press conferences, said he was ready to take the next step in his career after leaving Liverpool: “I always said that when I finish with Jurgen, that’s when I’ll go and start my management career. I hope I can bring the same emotions and joy to the fans in the future, to the new club. I really believe it’s a natural progression, I can’t wait to get started.”

LINH SON

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