Jurgen Klopp's loyalty to his squad is a rarity in modern football... but Liverpool's players must repay his faith

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It was during a time of increasing hardship at Anfield in October 2014 that the question was put to Brendan Rodgers: will you get a defensive coach?

'No,' said Liverpool's then manager, incredulous at the suggestion. 'No. No chance. No chance. No.'

Three years on, as the goals continue to flood in and progress is in danger of stalling, many are wondering whether the same query needs to be asked of Jurgen Klopp.

Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool have endured a frustrating start to the Premier League campaign 

His frustrations, as two more points ebbed away at St James' Park on Sunday, were obvious. This isn't how he expected the opening of the campaign to go and it is driving him to distraction.

But seeking help from outside? To quote Rodgers, no chance. Klopp has absolute faith in the methods that have served him so well until now and will not look beyond his trusted assistants Zeljko Buvac and Peter Krawietz for solutions.

Loyalty is not a trait you associate in modern football but, in Klopp's world, loyalty is the most important thing: once a player has his trust, it takes something significant for them to get on the wrong side.

'With him it's important everyone is equal,' Kevin Grosskreutz, the former Borussia Dortmund defender, once said of Klopp. 'It is important for players to understand the team comes first. He can be your friend and your boss, like sugar and spice.'

Klopp is famously loyal to his players - pictured here embracing Philippe Coutinho

Liverpool tried and failed to sign Southampton centre back Virgil van Dijk this summer

It should mean all things are nice but could it be that he is actually too loyal? You look at Liverpool's team frequently and cannot help but feel some players are still being given opportunities that they don't necessarily deserve. 

Take the defence. The ambition this summer was to sign Virgil van Dijk and they would have shattered the record for a centre back but Southampton would not relent.

So Liverpool looked at other alternatives but they were happy to let Davinson Sanchez leave Ajax to join Tottenham and had no interest in paying the money Napoli wanted for Kalidou Koulibaly.

'They are all good out there,' Klopp said last month. 'But they are not that good that you say "Yes! They help immediately!" I had to make a decision and the decision was our boys are not worse than them.'

Alberto Moreno and Coutinho react during the 1-1 draw against Newcastle on Sunday

If Southampton show willingness to do business in the future, Liverpool will move for Van Dijk in a heartbeat but, until then, Dejan Lovren and Joel Matip have his total backing.

Yet making them the scapegoats for Liverpool's porous start — seven matches, one Premier League clean sheet — would be wrong and unfair and a deeper look at some numbers prove where the problems lie.

When they made a flying start to last season, topping the table after beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, they were averaging 603 passes per game after seven matches.

Klopp has struggled for the right formula and has made 24 changes to his line-ups this season

This time the tally is 549. The passing accuracy has dropped (80.7 per cent compared to 84.6 per cent) and, most worrying of all, they have made 16 fewer tackles (114 so far, compared to the 130 of 12 months ago).

Klopp is looking for consistency but he has made 24 changes — twice as many as last year — to his starting line-up and Liverpool lack rhythm.

Are they also playing like a team that has become too complacent? It is a question Klopp must consider over the next fortnight ahead of a collision with Manchester United.

He doesn't need a defensive coach to sort out Liverpool's problems. He needs the squad to remember the values that enabled them to win his loyalty in the first place.

Dejan Lovren has been one of those to benefit from Liverpool's failure to sign a centre back