Jurgen Klopp tells Liverpool to be ‘angry’ as Reds renew rivalry with Manchester City

Liverpool finished on 92 points last season, one behind Premier League champions Manchester City, but Klopp believes there is room for improvement

Jurgen Klopp told his Liverpool team to be angry as he tries to build a siege mentality that will help them fight their way to glory this season.

Liverpool won the FA and Carabao Cups last season and were runners-up in the Premier League and the Champions League but Klopp held a meeting in which he said he wants them to use their team spirit to improve again.

Klopp – who said he feels like the “lonely moaner in the room” when he complains about the workload of top players – has made Darwin Nunez his major summer signing but feels he has the scope to make his existing group better again, drawing on their team spirit.

He explained: “We had a big meeting where I told the boys what I expect from them next year. I want to use the togetherness we have, the atmosphere we have in the team, the experience we made for better. We can grow closer together. We can be clearer in the things we do. The things we do are good. Can we do it better? Yes. Will that always lead to a better result? That is not possible because we won a lot of games but performance-wise we can definitely improve and that is what we try.

“We want to create a resilience and a fighting spirit. Being angry is important to fight against the outside world in this specific moment. All these things we can do. We don’t know where it will lead us but we know it will improve us, based on the things we know are important when we bring them on the pitch.”

Klopp is also tinkering with his attacking formula to try and ensure Liverpool remain prolific, adding: “When we have the ball, we have to create new ways. We have to help the boys with positioning - not invent ourselves new, that is not necessary – but include new things here and there. That is what we were really working on.”

Klopp thinks that top players are overworked and called on others to join him in highlighting the problem of a crowded fixture list.

He added: “I look like the only moaner or the lonely moaner in the corner talking about what players have to do, international players don’t have enough breaks, that I think we all agree, but I am the only one talking about it.”