I don't feel pressure of Liverpool expectations, claims Klopp
Liverpool's players need to play on instinct rather than follow a rigid system, according to Reds boss Jurgen Klopp.
Jurgen Klopp claimed he does not feel pressure despite Liverpool being widely tipped to challenge for the Premier League title this season, while admitting he does not give too much thought to systems and formations.
The Reds are one of three unbeaten sides at the top of the table after 12 league games, although they have suffered two defeats in the Champions League and one in the League Cup.
When asked about the expectation on his side as they aim for domestic and European success this season, Klopp gave a typically pragmatic account of his feelings.
Kloop: 'I give everything I have'
"I don’t feel pressure. That's how it is," Klopp told Premier League Productions.
"I made a decision long ago for myself: I give everything I have. I don't hold anything back. In this moment, I can't do better. I am really like I am.
"I expect a lot from myself but there is no pressure. We want to win each game and if we don't win it then we want to win the next one.
"Any other decisions – how people look at me and what people think about me – I have nothing to do with that because I have no influence on it. As long as we win football games, everybody thinks – even if they don't like me – 'He's a good manager'.
"And when we lose football games, the people who don’t like me and the people who like me say, 'Maybe he's not the right manager anymore'. That's how it is. If you know that before, how can it put pressure on your shoulders? I really don't understand that."
Never the system, always the players
Klopp was asked about the 4-2-3-1 formation that was used successfully in the 2-0 win over Fulham on Sunday, when Sadio Mane, Roberto Firmino and Xherdan Shaqiri played behind Mo Salah in attack.
Liverpool lined up in a 4-3-3 formation in their previous game - a 2-0 defeat at Red Star Belgrade in the Champions League - but Klopp played down the importance of his chosen system.
On the subject of 4-2-3-1, he said: "We played it from time to time, we didn't only play it at the beginning when I came in.
"But it's never about the system, it's all about the players.
"My job is to bring the players into the best position where they can help the team most with the things they can do.
"If I can do it with the system, I do it, but it's not that we go through the week and be very creative with things like that because, in the end, the players need to play [on instinct]."