Jurgen Klopp: German fitness fanatic will bring back true British values at Liverpool

DANNY HIGGINBOTHAM: Klopp has to work with what he has and must have figured out there is enough to suit his style

Jurgen Klopp walks out on the Anfield pitch (Getty Images)

Strange as it may sound I believe Jürgen Klopp, a German, who has never previously worked on these shores, will bring the values of English football back to Liverpool.

Klopp’s coaching career to date shows he believes in qualities that typify English teams, but have been missing at most clubs in England for several years.

There is a lot of talk about how exciting his teams are, and they can be, but he will make Liverpool strong defensively, that is a big thing for him. He will demand a high work-rate; his teams are so fit it is ridiculous. He will want his side to be very organised, and to accomplish that he will also look for, develop and encourage leaders on the pitch.

It is not easy for managers to get messages to players during a game so Klopp will want his senior players – men like James Milner, Jordan Henderson and Martin Skrtel, to keep the players disciplined and maintaining their team shape.

That will be important because Klopp’s teams are counter-attacking sides that like to overwhelm their opponents early on. When that does not work, players can become frustrated, which is when you need your leaders to keep players focused.

A young lad might bomb forward searching for a goal, leaving a hole behind him which leaves you vulnerable to a counter-attack yourself. Then you want a senior pro to tell him: “We know our game-plan; stay in shape, don’t get frustrated.”

Clues to how Klopp wants his teams to perform can be seen in the contrast between his last season at Borussia Dortmund, 2014-15, which was not very successful, and the previous four years, which were.

There are two aspects to the game-plan. One is to score first. If an early goal did not come they were happy to grind it out and pummel opponents into submission with their superior fitness.

From 2010 to 2014 they always out-worked the opposition and they scored more goals in the second half than the first half in that period.

In those years they conceded the first goal 41 times, around 10 matches a season, but only lost 15 of those games. They were ahead 110 times and only lost seven of those games. In the final season they conceded first on 16 occasions and lost on 13 of those. That season Dortmund started getting Dortmunded by other Bundesliga teams.

There will be a lot of players happy to see the back of Rodgers as they will have felt they did not get opportunities

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At their peak Dortmund were a very good counter-attacking team who would get among opponents, take the ball off them and swarm forward. Klopp is probably one of the best counter-attacking coaches in Europe and his team were very quick on transitions. But opponents got wise to that and began getting back in numbers and counter-attacking Dortmund.

In England, fans will not allow teams to sit back at home. This will help Klopp in away games but could hinder him at Anfield, so he will look for a fast start.

I think he has the players at Liverpool to play the way he wants. Klopp cannot change his squad until January, so he has to work with what he has and he must have figured there is enough to suit his style.

He likes 4-2-3-1, with pace in the team. He can play Christian Benteke as the striker, Daniel Sturridge on the left, Philippe Coutinho as the 10, then Danny Ings or Firmino on the right. Milner and Henderson can sit in front of the back four, giving licence to full-backs like Nathaniel Clyne and Alberto Moreno to bomb forward knowing the centre-halves are protected.

Aiming for a fast start, then counter-attacking, is in many ways similar to the way Liverpool played in the season they nearly won the title under Brendan Rodgers. The difference is in defensive organisation: Klopp will get them very fit and demand players recover defensive shape quickly.

There will be a lot of players happy to see the back of Rodgers as they will have felt they did not get opportunities, or felt he did not fancy them. But there will also be a lot of players gutted he has gone as managers have their favourites.

Now it is a clean slate for everyone. Anyone in football will know how Klopp likes his teams; there will be some thinking, “I like this, it will suit me,” others will be thinking, “My days could be numbered here.” They have to change or will be out the door because I don’t think Klopp is one of those managers who looks at players and finds a system, he will use the system he has been successful with and the players who suit it.

It will not be easy for him to start with, as he does not have a pre-season to get his message across and work on fitness. But I think he can get more out of the squad than they have been showing. In 11 matches this season they have only once scored more than one goal. That puts ridiculous pressure on the defence and Liverpool are not a team that keep many clean sheets. Both those aspects have to change and they will.

Chelsea’s problems mean there is likely to be an opening in the top four and I think Liverpool now have a good chance to take it, which I did not think would happen under Rodgers. The fans will love Klopp and he will make Anfield a fearful place to go again – which it has not been this season or last.

Whether he can win the title is another matter. Liverpool regard themselves as one of the biggest clubs in world football, up there with Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich, the Manchester clubs, Arsenal and Chelsea. In terms of reputation they are, but not when it comes to players.

With all the other clubs you can immediately name at least two players who are global names: Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta, Robert Lewandowski and Franck Ribéry, and so on. You cannot do that with Liverpool. Sturridge is probably the biggest name, but is he on the same pedestal as those players?

Liverpool are a huge club but their squad is not in that category. That will have to change if Klopp is to achieve his and the club’s ambitions.

Irish work ethic showed all that’s good in our game

I loved watching the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland in Europe this week. They epitomised the good things about our game. They do not have any world-class players but everyone stood up to be counted when they were under the cosh. I never saw a player isolated one-on-one – players were always thinking, “What can I do to help my team-mate?”

That selfless team ethic goes a hell of a long way and is credit to the players, but also the management and coaching staff of both countries.