London - Jurgen Klopp has claimed full responsibility for Liverpool’s alarming form after they slipped to yet another surprise defeat, this time against relegation-threatened Hull City.
The German’s side have still won only once since the turn of the year, against League Two’s Plymouth Argyle in a FA Cup tie.
Defeats to Swansea City, Southampton and Wolverhampton Wanderers last month came amid inactivity during the January transfer window, with no reinforcements found for Klopp’s thin squad.
The Liverpool manager will not, however, blame anyone but himself for the slump, which threatens to completely derail a season which once promised so much.
“First of all I think what is very important is to never blame anybody else for your own mistakes,” he said after the 2-0 defeat at the KCOM Stadium.
“I cannot change my answer after today, I cannot say: ‘Yes, it would have been fantastic if the club could have given me [new players].
“We had opportunities for doing something but we didn’t find the right players. It’s not because we were blind, it’s because the players were not available.
“We tried different things, it was not a money issue, there were different reasons. We have to show a reaction, but I will not change my answers about things like this after a game which I am really not happy about.”
After their victory against Manchester City on New Year’s Day, Liverpool seemed likeliest to mount a challenge to runaway Premier League leaders Chelsea.
Klopp’s players now look bereft of confidence, but their manager is only interested in solutions and arresting their slide as soon as possible.
“I feel 100 per cent responsible for defeats, much more than I feel for wins. It has been like this my whole life. That doesn’t mean it’s for me not suffering or to be sorry for yourself, to have self-pity, I’m not like this,” he said.
“When I get up tomorrow I will only be solution-orientated. There are solutions, 100%. Now we have to change it, that’s a football thing. Even though at this moment it feels really bad it’s not the biggest problem in the world.
“Many teams have already made mistakes and changed things, for this you have to do the right things and I’m quite confident we can do the right things.”
