Jurgen Klopp will be “safe” in his job at Liverpool, but “things change quickly” in football, so next season may be “different”, says Glen Johnson.
The 2020/21 term has been a torrid one for Liverpool and Klopp. Virgil Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip all suffered season-ending injuries.
The Reds have fallen away from title contention having lost four straight games in the Premier League. They have also lost four consecutive games at Anfield, with defeats coming against Burnley, Brighton, Man City and Everton.
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Liverpool have dropped down to sixth in the table and they are five points behind West Ham in fourth. Speaking to CheltenhamGuides.com, as cited by The Mirror, Johnson insisted that Klopp’s side are “too good” not to finish in the top four:
“I think Klopp’s job will be safe, but next year will be different. This season you can’t talk about sacking him because he’s been unbelievable, but unfortunately at this level of football, things change quickly.
“I think Klopp will be absolutely fine for now but next season will be a different conversation.
“I think Liverpool will finish in the top four because they’re too good not to be in it, but I can’t see which other teams will miss out.
“Chelsea will probably get in there, the two Manchester teams will be there and Leicester are flying at the moment. I think Liverpool will get it done, but it will be very tight.
“Winning the Champions League isn’t Liverpool’s best chance of European football right now because there’s two or three teams that look unstoppable and Liverpool aren’t the team that they were at this moment in time.
“Their best chance is finishing in the top four. I think Liverpool are struggling without the fans there. They play with such high pressure and intensity and it’s hard to maintain that level physically on your own so when they’re playing well the crowd give them an extra 10 per cent.
“I played at Anfield for many years as a home player and I’ve been there as an away player and it’s not a nice place to go, Liverpool always have a good team and the crowd can be ferocious, you know you’re going to be in for a tough day.
“For an away player to play at Anfield now, the atmosphere is lost, completely gone, and with Liverpool struggling, there’s nothing for away teams to fear.
“The team is light already at the moment so the more games that they have will be a negative for them. They’ve been unlucky with injuries and to compete in both competitions you need a big fit squad and Liverpool don’t have that at the moment.”
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