GETTY Barnes believes Klopp can build on a Capital One Cup victory this season with a strong pre-season

The Reds this week confirmed they have reached a pre-contract agreement with Schalke’s Joel Matip, Klopp’s second permanent signing after Serbian youngster Marko Grujic. Klopp also brought in loanee Steven Caulker during the January transfer window. And Barnes has urged the Anfield faithful to accept that while the German boss will be bringing in players in the summer, they may not be household names.

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp spotted filming TV advert Tue, February 16, 2016 Jurgen Klopp has caught the acting bug... Play slideshow Mark/iCelebTV.com 1 of 30 Jurgen Klopp has turned his hand to acting again

Add to that convincing wins at Stamford Bridge and the Etihad and there’s little doubting that Klopp can produce fine performances at Liverpool. But crippling inconsistency - before the Villa win they had gone five games without a victory - means they still sit eighth in the table. And while they are nine points off Champions League qualification, Barnes is confident that Klopp just needs a full pre-season with his players. “Liverpool are inconsistent because I don’t think that Jurgen has had time to implement his own strategy with his own players so it’s difficult to show any level of consistency,” he added.

GETTY Barnes will be hoping Liverpool can repeat his 1995 feat and lift the Capital One Cup on Sunday