As Jurgen Klopp continues to reshape Liverpool in his mold, he becomes more comfortable with the team he’s built at Anfield. That comfort leads to confidence, as the German believes his side will be Premier League title contenders this season.
Never mind the detractors, who consistently point out the disappointments and deficiencies in the transfer market this summer, Klopp believes his Reds will be in the hunt.
“We’ll be playing for the championship. We don’t start a season by not having any ambitions,” the affable and energetic German said. “We have to have our goals and I think we have a very good team now.”
“We did have a bit of bad luck last season. I think we can play a little bit better. Let’s hope everything will work very well and that there isn’t much more to improve.”
Jurgen Klopp led Liverpool to a fourth place finish, and with a spot back in UEFA Champions League, during his first full season in charge at Merseyside. His team was the exemplar of a side that looked stellar against the big boys, but struggled against smaller finish. They could easily win every single match versus the top six, as they were likely to lose to the mid and lower table sides. They won’t be playing for the title this year, unless they can correct that; and their issues in central defense.
If there’s a weak link holding Liverpool back it’s the leaks in the last line, especially the middle part.
This season, Jurgen Klopp and company will have to balance the European and domestic workload, and all of the challenges that come with it. League play opens on August 12th against Watford.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net and TheBank.News, partnered with News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com, currently contributes regularly to WGN CLTV.
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