Jurgen Klopp will step down as Liverpool manager at the end of the season
Captain Virgil van Dijk is the first player to speak about Klopp’s decision
NOBODY can fill Jurgen Klopp’s shoes… but Xabi Alonso can go anywhere he wants. If Liverpool are smart they will ask him to come to Anfield – It’s All Kicking Off
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has admitted Jurgen Klopp’s decision to leave the club at the end of the season is a ‘tough one to take’, but vowed to ensure the German ends his time on a high.
Klopp made the shock announcement on Friday that he will stand down as Liverpool manager after nine years in charge.
Van Dijk became the first Liverpool player to speak following Klopp’s announcement, with the skipper admitting to the club’s website that news was hard for the squad.
‘It’s a hard one to take, because the manager means so much for us, to me, to the club, to the whole Premier League I think,’ Van Dijk said following the news.
‘But he made the decision for him and his family. It was always going to be a tough one and it was definitely the case.’
Virgil van Dijk became the first Liverpool player to address Jurgen Klopp’s shock decision
Virgil van Dijk became the first Liverpool player to address Jurgen Klopp’s shock decision
Klopp made the announcement in a bombshell interview on Friday morning, with the 56-year-old claiming he is ‘running out of energy’ after winning the Premier League, Champions League, the FA Cup and Carabao Cup across nine years at Anfield.
Klopp has hinted he may never manage in football ever again.
‘I will leave the club at the end of the season,’ he said. ‘I can understand that it’s a shock for a lot of people in this moment, when you hear it for the first time, but obviously I can explain it – or at least try to explain it.
‘It is that I am, how can I say it, running out of energy. I have no problem now, obviously, I knew it already for longer that I will have to announce it at one point, but I am absolutely fine now. I know that I cannot do the job again and again and again and again.’
The shock announcement comes with Liverpool in contention to win four trophies this season.
The Reds are currently five points clear in the Premier League and will face Chelsea in the Carabao Cup final.
Klopp’s side also remain in contention in both the Europa League and FA Cup this season.
Van Dijk revealed that Klopp had told players in private about his decision to leave, with the defender insisting the squad are now focused on their targets for the season.
The Liverpool captain dismissed suggestions the squad could be destablised by Klopp’s upcoming exit, instead claiming they could get an ‘extra boost’ as they aim to ensure the German boss ends his time at the club on a high.
‘I think how we always try to manage noise from the outside. Of course this is massive, it’s massive news in football. For us, it was also a very big day.
‘But we have big targets this year and that’s definitely stressed by the manager as well. For us and for me personally as well, I want to make sure the rest of the boys think like that too. I think that’s the case as well.
‘We all want to achieve so much and that mindset was already there since pre-season and that doesn’t change.
‘It will maybe even give you an extra boost to do that extra or maybe enjoy it a little bit even more together and make the last part of the season, the last bit of the manager’s time at the club, the best time he’s ever had.’
