Jurgen Klopp Q&A: Liverpool manager on Manchester United, Philippe Coutinho and Jose Mourinho's tactics

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Jürgen Klopp, the Liverpool manager, will be hoping his side can give their season a shot in the arm by beating Manchester United at Anfield on Saturday.

Liverpool are currently seven points adrift of their visitors, who are only behind leaders Manchester City on goal difference at the summit of the Premier League.

After answering questions on the loss of Sadio Mané to a hamstring injury and his two-year anniversary at Anfield his televised press conference, Klopp spoke to national newspaper journalists.

Here is what he had to say on Barcelona's latest interest in Philippe Coutinho and the gap between his side and the Manchester clubs.

Barcelona have spoken about Coutinho this week. What did you think about them coming out and speak so publicly about him again?

“There is another transfer window in January, we cannot change this. I have nothing to say about it. It is an open window maybe a few players will change in the future. I have no clue.

“At this moment I am really not interested. I read a lot about Barcelona in the last few days but it was about the referendum. Nothing about football.”

You said you're convinced you can still be successful. How difficult is that without United and City's levels of spending?

“In the moment when I think we cannot be successful, and there is only consolation, I go. Why should I be here as some kind of caretaker until the world creates a manager who can be more successful? That makes no sense.

“I am really convinced. Other managers have different ways to do it, other clubs have different ways to do it. We have our way. I don’t think I am the perfect manager, I only think I am the perfect fit for this club. And I feel already much more responsible than maybe I should.

“I don’t even think about going from my side and saying, ‘that’s it’. I really think we are on the right way.

“Doing things like this [spending money] makes it more likely.

“Yes we need to be a little bit luckier, but to do that you have to carry on working. We are on a good way I know. If we could start again now bringing me in, if you want, I still have the same fire, the same passion, absolutely no problem.

“I know people don’t want to wait. We cannot change this. If you don’t want to wait, don’t wait.”

Still think it's possible?

“Of course it is. If you have a really good situation in your private life, enjoy it. If your neighbour has a better situation, does that mean you can't enjoy your own situation?

“But he's got one more car, he gets to go on one extra holiday... It's about us becoming happy, not about others.

“Can we dominate them for the next 20 years without spending the same amount of money? Probably not, but can we still be there? Yes of course. And we want to force this.

“We want to be consistent, constant at our high level and improve it, even when we lose a player in the future we want to bring in other players.

“That's the benefit of a long-term project. I know the owners are not in doubt about me, about us, about anything.

“In Melwood we enjoy it. It's really okay but of course we know we have to deliver.

“At Newcastle, I was close, it was too much for me for a second. It felt unfair after the game. We were the better side, we had more chances. They had one chance and scored.

“Your colleague asked me: 'Do you think it's a fair result?' I said 'What do you think?' When he said 'Yes', I was close to getting up!

“As a human being I'm not proud of this. When I went out, I thought 'Come on, go back, shake hands, it's not his fault....'

“But it's like the world is. They aren't interested. It's about results. Deliver: we know that.

“The only possibility to get the result is with performance. If we sat back and waited for one counter attack nobody at Anfield would accept this. It is a difficult position. We have to be dominant, but if ever we make a mistake everyone says ‘ah it happens again’.

“I am looking to this game, the Maribor game and the Tottenham game. Yes we need a bit of luck. Did we have much of it so far? I would say no but we have to work for it.”

A lot of top teams, when they play against you, play like some of the smaller teams. How do you counter that?

“Should we do the same and so the ball stays in the middle of the park and no-one wants it? The game does not work like that. Mourinho teams are smart. It is completely okay, but we could have won last year. They will not be that passive. They are a different team with a different way. If there are one or two long balls that is not a problem. We can still win them. You need to be ready for high pressure moments.

“You have chances in a game and need to be ready. We have to improve in the switching from playing, playing, playing and then one chance to the opponent.

“Everyone says we do not have a plan B or how to play a ‘weaker’ side. We did last year except in one or two games when everyone said ‘you see!’ We were fourth. Not perfect, but okay. Could we have caught Chelsea? No. But we were not too far from City or Tottenham and now we want the next step.

“We want a situation to create confidence. Against City we were the better team before they had ten men and then they score five and something like 40 goals in two weeks. We got the other knock and thought ‘shit, we conceded five’ but it was not that bad. We were the better side in all the game after that and did not win, except Leicester.

“The big challenge is stay confident and play football. I am ready for this and the boys are ready for this.”

Win and the gap is four points, lose and it is ten.

“These are facts, we can not ignore facts, but it should not be in middle of what we think about. We want to win and we know it is a special game. It is an early moment in the season and we have only three or four points less than Tottenham and Chelsea.

“Yes it feels like the Manchester clubs are running. We played City and they were not five classes better. Do not think of gaps too early because it makes you stiff. We have to be free, create atmosphere and play football so it would be good if all those with the Reds are ready.”