Klopp: I inherited a Liverpool not good enough to win titles

Jurgen Klopp has recalled taking charge of Liverpool nine years ago.

Klopp admits he inherited a squad not good to compete for titles.

He said, "In the few days before first press conference I had been talking to people about why they changed from Brendan Rodgers to me, what happened in not becoming champions in 2014 and what it meant being so close. I realised everyone was doubting what Liverpool does and no-one liked the team. Even the team didn't like the team!

"That was really the case. You could see it. The players were not comfortable in their skin. It was not like they were thinking, 'we are in the right place'. They had signed for Liverpool and found it difficult to catch-up with the expectation of the people. That was clear talking to Ian Ayre, John Henry, Mike Gordon, (former head of press) Matt McCann, they were the first people I met at the club.

"The four years comment was, not exactly to buy time, but I know how football works. If you do not go where people want you to go early enough then it will not happen. What I actually meant to say was (if we do not win a trophy) you will need a coach from Switzerland. Either way, it was b*******! It was more that you will have to try with somebody else.

"The people had lost patience long enough and wanted to see something they could believe in again and obviously coincidentally, or maybe not because every football fan likes it, but you have to increase the work rate. It's not that the players didn't work hard enough but you have to fight for something really want. There are things for playing a football game. One is reactive and the other is proactive.

"And reactive is just always too late even when the running stats say you have run 125k or whatever and then you think 'how did that happen?' So it is always about a positive approach and what I liked a lot because I could see it with the players early on was the Tottenham game (October 2015), it was a super intense game and we'd only had two training sessions as we'd only just come back from the international break. The players wanted to do well as well so we just tired.

"Simon Mignolet made a few saves but it was one of the better nil-nils, let me say it like this. So that was the start I needed to see and learn a bit about the character of the boys. And a football club like Liverpool FC, people want to buy into a project and a journey.

"I think you could they everyone was ready for it. I think it was would have happened to most other managers to be honest because it was 24 years, Brendan tried again, people weren't happy so they made a change and it was a moment for a new start and that's what it was, but it needed time. We qualified for the Champions League and the Europa League was not bad.

"Rubin Kazan we played, Jordon Ibe scored, we played in Sion on the frozen pitch. I learned about a day before that we had Brad Smith and he stood right next to me in training and it was too embarrassing to ask him who he was so I had to ask someone else! They told me he's our left-back.

"Interesting. We had so many injuries, I came here and all these things happen to Danny Ings, Joe Gomez and we had to play Conor Randall, he's in Scotland now isn't he? Shamal George was in the training group too but we came through.

"The highlight was the Dortmund game and Villarreal was a semi-final too. We learned to play good football and it was a good team. It was not the best team in the league like everyone wants but it was a good team. I arrived here I had five strikers, I never had that before. Ings, Sturridge, great player but injured too often, Divock Origi, Benteke and Bobby Firmino. That is really good.

"Phil Coutinho too. Last line was a bit too slow. It's difficult to play a high line but we had Kolo Toure, we had quality, just for not how we want to play. Dejan Lovren was a good age, incredible skill set played a lot of great games for us. So it was good just maybe not enough to go for the big prizes. We had to change it step by step."