Jurgen Klopp reveals how players responded to news of Liverpool exit
- Klopp confirmed he will depart Liverpool at the end of the season
- Reds boss urged players to focus on remainder of the campaign
- German manager also offered a parting message for fans
By Tom Gott
Jurgen Klopp has praised the Liverpool squad for their response to his revelation that he will leave the Anfield dugout this summer.
Klopp dropped the bombshell on Friday morning, announcing he will step down from his role as manager in the summer but vowing to keep his focus solely on succeeding with the team for the next six months.
In Friday's press conference, Klopp hailed the Liverpool squad for taking the news in their stride and keeping their focus on the remainder of the season.
"The reaction of the players was top, it was really good," he said. "We've known each other for so long that they know I don't say things like that and then walk away. I'm here. I'm fully here.
"I spoke to the players altogether, and then I spoke to a few players after that. We have a really strong bond, so they didn't ask questions yet. We are professionals.
"I think we had cameras out there for the training session and you can see the boys are in a really good mood. It's not that they were getting up and having a party when I told them, it was just an announcement. I told them it's different to other situations. Usually, when a manager is in a dressing room talking like that, he got sacked. That wouldn't have happened here because of the things we reached with each other."
THE 90MIN FOOTBALL SHOW - KLOPP STUNS WORLD OF FOOTBALL
Asked for a parting message for fans, Klopp urged the Anfield faithful to focus on the team for the remainder of the season and save their farewells for the summer.
"I really hope you can accept the decision," he began. "I'm not in the mood for saying thank you, even though I should have, and I will do that. These things will all happen.
"Now, it's the rest of the season. We all know the outside world wants to distract us. Opponents want to take each opportunity to make you weaker. There's no misunderstanding of my feelings towards our supporters or the other way around.
"We should not make these games about me. We need all the support for all the games. A lot of games coming up and we need that, we want that. Let's squeeze everything out of this season."
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