Return
Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has spoken about Virgil van Dijk’s mindset ahead of the club playing Southampton, after the defender of course pushed through a move to the Reds.
He claimed that the mindset of the player is OK, and while the fans may not be thrilled about seeing their former star, the defender will just have to get on with it.
“It is obviously quite special and yes, for sure, I will talk to Virgil about it. With other players I didn’t talk about it but for him yes, of course,” said Klopp.
“It will not be a normal game [for him], how can it be? It was a special story, most of the time really positive and then the end not that positive. And I think how football fans are they want to disturb everything we try to do to help their team and they will whistle.
“Is it nice? I don’t think so. Will it have influence? I don’t think so. But we are all human beings, we are influenced by circumstances.
“We have to accept it how it is: loud, not nice maybe, but still we have to play football.”
Top four
Liverpool, along with Chelsea, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur, are all in a fight for the top four and Klopp knows that a good run at this point in the season is vital. The club cannot see their hard work go to waste, and while beating the likes of Manchester City is certainly impressive, they cannot then go and drop points to sides like Swansea if they want to once again be in the Champions League come next season.
A top four finish will be vital – especially when it comes to attracting the top class players they want come the summer and spending the Coutinho money.