Jurgen Klopp's defence is Championship level, says Jurgen Klopp
Klopp has come under fire this season with Liverpool struggling at the back.
But the German defended himself yesterday by claiming he could write a book on defending.
Barton has scoffed at the thought and reckons his players aren’t up to it.
When asked about the Liverpool boss’ claims, Barton said on talkSPORT: “I don’t know what’s in that book!
“Liverpool are great going forward, they’ve got a Champions League attack…but they’ve got a Championship defence.
“If you’ve going to build a side to challenge the big clubs in this league then you’ve got to be able to defend.
“Klopp’s statement that he can write a book on defending…anyone can write a book on defending! We can sit here and go through footage and draw out how we’d perfectly like to defend a set-play - it’s easy to do that.
“But defending is all about attitude and I don’t think he’s bought players who have the right attitude towards defending.
“You can say that it’s individual mistakes, it’s this, it’s that, but they haven’t got a desire to put their head in places and get hurt and defend properly.
“You’ve got to have a desire to keep clean sheets."
Klopp 'SICK' of Liverpool's defending after Leicester defeat
Liverpool have conceded 11 goals in six games - with only three teams having a worse record so far this season.
And Barton thinks Klopp needs a better keeper with Simon Mignolet not up to the level of Liverpool’s rivals’ No.1s.
“Mignolet looks dodgy every time the ball comes in and around him," he added.
"I don’t think he’s sure of himself.
"People perhaps forget that he was the Sunderland goalie – it’s not like he’s got top-class pedigree. He’s not an international goalkeeper. He’s in the Belgium squad but he’s never going to push Courtois for the number one jersey.
"You look at the Premier League’s top six sides, Liverpool have the worst goalkeeper. Man City have got Bravo, Man United have De Gea, Chelsea have Courtois, Tottenham have Lloris, even Arsenal have Cech.
"Then when you look at their central defence partnership and full-backs, you realise Liverpool have actually got the worst defensive structure of all the top six clubs."
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