Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has said he couldn’t care less about the Premier League title amid frustration of the fixture congestion and injuries.
The German manager has seen key injuries to defenders Virgil Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and midfielder Jordan Henderson in recent weeks force him to use Liverpool’s youngsters. Gomez was injured in a training session on international duty with England.
And, when asked how many points it would take to win the title this season, Klopp said it wasn’t his primary focus.
“Sorry to say this but I couldn’t care less in this moment, Jamie. It doesn’t look like somebody will get 100 [points] or whatever. In this season? Four weeks shorter? Same amount of games? I don’t think it’s possible. Even 87 [points] looks far away,” Klopp said to the Daily Mail.
“My English is not good enough to describe exactly what went through my mind [with Gomez]. My head physio told me and everybody was sure it was serious immediately. No doubts. No hope it was only a little one. Injuries are part of the deal for players and managers. How they happen is something we are constantly worried about.
In recent weeks Klopp has joined Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola in pushing for the re-introduction five substitutes in Premier League matches due to the congested fixture list.
“With the Van Dijk situation, it was not because of the intensity of the game. It was because of a very strange decision by one person [Everton’s Jordan Pickford] which made it hard to deal with.
“This is a very special time, not only for football but for the whole world,” he said. “All of us have to dig in and fight hard to get through it.
“In football, it’s like this. It looks like the whole world changed but the two things which stayed were the fixture list of the Premier League and three subs.
“If we were to win it this year it would be a big achievement to be honest. Maybe a bigger one. That’s what I love about the Premier League: there are so many contenders. Our start was not so bad. Yes, we had a special game against Aston Villa [the 7-2 defeat]. Maybe we needed that. We’ve used it. Leicester on Sunday. Let’s see.”