Gerrard: Klopp has lifted atmosphere at Liverpool

Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard says the club’s new manager Jurgen Klopp has lifted the atmosphere at Anfield since his arrival in October.

Klopp replaced former boss Brendan Rodgers at Anfield after the Northern Irishman paid the price for an indifferent start to the campaign, a 1-1 draw with rivals Everton that left them 10th proving the final straw.

Liverpool have shown signs of improvement under former Borussia Dortmund coach Klopp, though, with a 3-1 Premier League win at Chelsea and a 6-1 drubbing of Southampton in the League Cup quarter-finals among the highlights.

And Gerrard, who has been training with Liverpool to stay fit during the Major League Soccer off-season before returning to LA Galaxy next month, is relishing the experience.

“If I was a player at Liverpool – either a young player or one at my peak – and Jurgen Klopp walked through the door, I would be licking my lips,” Gerrard told the London Evening Standard.

“The players should be excited. I think to myself, imagine being 25 or 26 and how happy and excited I would be to be working with him. 

“So the players should be sitting themselves down and realising what an opportunity they have to achieve success in the next two, three, four or however many years he is here. 

“If the players are not feeling it then there is something wrong.”

Gerrard has confirmed he will not sign a short-term deal to return to Liverpool, although he admits playing for Klopp is a tempting prospect.

“I had coffee with him and when I came out of the room I just felt happy. I felt taller. And I am not one of the players so I can only imagine what he has done to those players in the dressing room,” the LA Galaxy star said.

“The atmosphere at the club is brilliant. The players are buzzing around the training ground and there are smiles all over the place. I think he has lifted the whole place.

“He wants to be around players who are enjoying it. He does not want players to be tense, worried or concerned. He wants to take all that pressure on his shoulders.

“I love the way he handles players individually, I love the way he handles his team and I am all over his tactics.

“I am watching him on the outside but I also get to work with him so it is a brilliant experience for me – as a Liverpool supporter, an ex-player, a pundit and also for my future as well.”