10 games as Liverpool manager so far and
I know managers like to look forward not
back but you had you know the
international break just to take breath
how did you reflect on the beginning for
you as Liverpool manager ah it's been a
good start uh let that be clear so uh
there was only one game where we weren't
happy with and that was of course the
nothing on Forest game all the other
ones I think um we deserved to get the
result we got although maybe in an Ideal
World the the difference between us and
the other team would have been a bit
bigger so every time every time we won I
think we deserved it but some games we
deserved it more than others uh in terms
of how big the um the Gap was between us
the other teams so um it's been a good
start also in Champions League it's
always nice to start off uh in the best
possible way and we hardly did that
except for that one game is actually the
biggest challenge or the biggest change
like the off field stuff I saw you did
an interview where you were talking
about obviously your English is
excellent but speaking a different
language all day every day so is it bit
because you know obviously how to coach
a football team you wouldn't be sat here
if you didn't so is it those off field
bits that are the biggest change for you
yeah for me off field is is the biggest
change the first time that I live abroad
it's the first time that I live
separately from my family from my
children and my wife and that's tough
right people don't and that is that's
not the ideal world you would love it to
be different than that but the good
thing is that I'm in this building a lot
we work a lot so there's not a lot of
time to sit at home and feel like I'm
alone we are either going away to a
Champion League game or preparing for
the next one so that is different um but
yeah uh the the the first days all new
faces because if you go in the same
country to a new club then you know the
fysio or all these staff members you
know them from face and sometimes you
even know their name sometimes you even
work with them before if you Chang to
another club now going to a different
country uh everything is new and then
speaking English the whole day that that
that that does get some energy out of
you uh this combination of new faces new
club new so this is might be really
weird question but you don't think in
English yet sometimes sometimes I count
in my head in English uh but uh no
mostly I I I think in uh I think in
Dutch but but the good thing for me was
that we at my former Club finally we
also had a lot of foreign players so all
of the meetings so the football talk was
already a lot in English so talking
about football is not that difficult for
me but talking about in normal life then
sometimes you have to uh dig really deep
to come up with the right words uh if
you have a normal conversation during
lunch or during breakfast forgive me if
this is too personal but in terms of
your family are you looking to move them
over I don't know but are your kids ages
where you think no they need to stay in
school stuff like that
I I think it depends on how how it will
work out this year so both of them are
doing their exams so it was impossible
for them to come I wouldn't say
impossible would not be the right choice
to bring them over and let's see how it
works out this year for them for me and
see how what uh how we will do things
next year but first of all we have to
keep on winning for me to keep this job
come yet
kids well one thing that's really struck
me listening to other interviews you've
done you seem really comfortable with
the success that's come before premier
league history tells us that following a
great manager and let's be honest that's
what Jurgen Club was for this club isn't
easy but but you seem to sort of wear
the pressure If there is pressure you
seem to wear that quite
comfortably um I think I do yeah uh but
that has a lot to do with with how much
I trust the players that I took over
from him as well so I wasn't surprised
because I saw a lot of games of them and
I saw a lot of training sessions as well
so I knew the quality they had and the
only thing I have influence on is
working with them and prepare them in
the best possible way and that's what I
me and my staff tried to do I feel like
maybe uh maybe a less experienced coach
or not even just in football management
actually a less experienced leader goes
in wants to stamp their Authority change
this but I've SE I've seen loads of bits
where you've said know the culture's
good the rules are good I think you
looked back at every well not every but
some of young club's training I feel
like you have to be comfort in your own
skin to use the good things does that
make sense yeah maybe you maybe you
should but I I think it would be real
strange decision also if this club have
been so successful with yugan uh and so
many players are still there then to
change everything I don't think that
would work out really well so you just
keep the things that you like a lot and
Implement a few ideas that you have
yourself as well but we've got
experienced players um that are used to
a certain way of working and then it's
sometimes also refreshing to change one
or two things but it would be stupid to
change everything where they were
successful with in terms of the things
you have changed you did an interview
with Jamie Carrio where you talked about
just rebalancing the risk reward a
little bit not always playing the
difficult Bard you think the players are
adjusting to that little little change
sometimes better than in other moments
uh so uh but that that that will always
be the situation you will never reach
Perfection uh we are aiming for it but
will never reach it so sometimes a
player sees a chance feels that that is
the moment to play the difficult ball
and if it happens I'm the first one to
say Well done but if it doesn't yeah you
see me at the line like oh why does he
make this difficult choice I lastly
wanted to ask you about a couple of
individuals you in the last couple of
days watched quite a lot of clips of
Ryan grenberg and it seems obvious with
how sort of consistent he is in
possession how well he breaks a play
that he'd be a good number six but it
obviously wasn't cuz and I think he did
it a bit aax but you're the guy who's
given him a regular run at six so what
did you say that other people didn't he
is not the typical number of six that is
uh making sliding tackles of three or
four or five meter which a lot of fans
also like to see but if you play in a
possession based team which he does it's
a lot about keeping the ball making the
right decisions if you have the ball and
bring the ball from the last line
towards the forwards and it's just a bit
of how you look at a player but in the
end he also surprised me not how
comfortable he is with the ball but also
how trustable he is without the ball and
I think that is um that is something he
picked up really fast or what was maybe
already inside of him but people and me
never saw before and is Trent to pick
out another individual one of the most
unique players you coach having that
kind of Firepower that far back in the
pitch talking about risk and
reward and the choices he makes in which
moment then he's of the players uh uh
that that um can make his decision
sometimes better in my opinion but to
have a right fullback that is so special
uh with the ball uh yeah that's extra
quality Liverpool had for so many years
and I'm lucky enough to have that still
because uh how many fullbacks create so
many chances for their team so he should
keep bringing this risk to his game and
in some moments find uh uh other options
as well but uh I also have to address in
my opinion how well he's defending at
Liverpool in the last few games we've
played so I see a a a a player that is
uh bringing his game further up further
up which was hardly possible because he
was already that good but I think he
still does and that's a good thing
absolute last one I'm not sure how much
more you've got to say on the contracts
of Trent Virgil and Salah probably not a
lot but I suppose it's been the one
Shadow if that's the right word over
your early days I know it's sort of
beyond your control a little bit but all
I was going to ask you is like as a
Liverpool fan it would worry me it would
make me anxious having this carrying on
do do you understand that anxiety from
people who maybe don't know the full
picture yeah maybe even if you know the
full picture I can understand that
Liverpool fans feels this anxiety
because all three of them have been
really important for us for years and
still this year on the other hand I
would focus on what I see that these
players still bring up the best possible
performances so maybe we are in a good
place uh we would have been in in a far
worse place if they had the same
contract situation and we're not playing
good anymore then everybody would say
it's all about the contract situation
but at this moment I'm very very happy
with what they are doing and um that's
my main concern more than uh than the
long-term concern about next year
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