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Jurgen Klopp insists Daniel Sturridge isn’t suffering from a crisis of confidence as he backed the Liverpool striker to break his Premier League goal drought.

The England international has played 616 minutes of top-flight football since he last found the net against Newcastle United back in April.

Sturridge endured another frustrating night on his 100th appearance for the Reds in Monday’s goalless stalemate with Manchester United as he was taken off in the second half.

His lacklustre performance re-ignited the debate over whether he can adjust to Klopp’s style and hold down a starting role.

However, the manager has reaffirmed his faith in the 27-year-old frontman and says even the greatest strikers go through difficult periods.

Asked if Sturridge’s confidence had dipped, Klopp said: “I haven’t noticed it.

“If we have a shooting exercise, there are still tears in your eyes when you see him and think: ‘oh f****** hell, what is that? That is unbelievable!’

“But then you see the games. There are no easy one, two, three situations where he could have scored and you think ‘uh-oh, he should have scored’.

“I’ve been here a year, and even I have thought in some moments: ‘Ball… Sturridge…. Goal. Oh No!’ There are moments when you think he should score and he doesn’t but you have to carry on.

“It is a very important and very useful moment in his career.

“A big name.... (Robert) Lewandowski. There were times when he didn’t score. Gerd Muller! There were games he didn’t score.

“I still can’t believe it. You look back on his career and he scored 600 times but there were moments when he didn’t score.

“It is only to handle situations like this. It is not to make too big a thing about it.”

Klopp hasn’t felt the need to talk to Sturridge about his long wait for a Premier League goal.

“I don’t have to,” he said. “It’s like when you have a problem, you don’t want someone coming up to you all the time, tapping your shoulder, and saying: ‘hey, it’s all right! You can do it!’

“I respect these guys. I know, they know, so let’s go through.”

Daniel has no issues physically

Since missing the opening weekend win at Arsenal as he recovered from a hip problem, Sturridge has started four times in the league and come off the bench on three further occasions.

His barren run may now stretch beyond 10 hours of Premier League football but Klopp insists he has still been making a contribution.

The German coach pointed to Sturridge’s intelligent movement and unselfish build up play which created goals for Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane in last month’s win over champions Leicester City.

“Daniel is hard working,” Klopp said.

“He is fit, no issues physically. And now it’s the same as for every other player, what he has to do is work.

“Look at Jamie Vardy last year. His shot against us, we all thought he had to run another 20 yards and instead.... goal. Sometimes you are in a moment when these things work, sometimes not.

“With Dan, we have to work on it together. He’s my player, and that’s my job. He didn’t score until now, that’s true, but what is also true is that he has had really good games for us.

“For me, the (Firmino) goal against Leicester was the goal of the season so far. Because when you have this kind of movement, and you work so hard in training on it, and it comes off....

“Especially for a striker who in the public view isn’t scoring enough, to make this run out of the box to take the two centre-halves out and open everything up, that is a sign of development.

“I’m fine with his form. My job is to help him, and all the other players, arrive in situations to score goals more often.”

West Brom are the visitors to Anfield on Saturday and it was in this fixture three years ago that Sturridge scored once of the greatest goals of his Reds career.

After Luis Suarez had helped himself to a hat-trick in the 4-1 victory, Sturridge provided the icing on the cake as he surged forward and then executed a stunning left-footed chip from the edge of the box over Boaz Myhill in front of the Kop.

It was the work of a marksman operating at the peak of his powers.

Most of the time football has been easy for him because he is so skilled

Sturridge scored 24 goals in that remarkable 2013/14 campaign as he was part of the most lethal double act in European football.

However, since that rout of the Baggies in October 2013 he has netted just 25 league goals.

Injuries forced him to miss large chunks of the past two seasons and some have questioned whether those issues have taken their toll. Is he still the same player?

“Come on! Strikers have moments where they are here, moments when they are here, and hard working moments too,” Klopp said dismissively.

“I think in this moment of course it is not easy for Dan. Most of the time in his life, football has been easy for him because he is so skilled. And he is still so skilled.

“Everybody needs confidence, the right moments, an easy goal, whatever. But the job to do for all of us is clear.

“He cannot think about a moment like this where he has not scored in five or six games. I don’t care, it’s normal.

“I can’t just work with players who are 100% in form, 100% in shape, everything. If I was to do that then I would be alone here! Every player struggles with this or that, little problem here or there.

“Daniel Sturridge is an outstanding player, there is no doubt about that.”

It will be interesting to see whether Klopp’s backing of Sturridge extends to him keeping his place for Saturday’s Anfield clash with Tony Pulis’ side.

If Gini Wijnaldum and Adam Lallana return to the line up then Emre Can and Sturridge appear to be the two most likely to make way.

Klopp believes whoever played up front against United would have struggled to make an impression because Liverpool were so wasteful in possession. He expects a sizeable improvement in all departments against the Baggies.

“It was a difficult game for Daniel on Monday,” Klopp added.

“When you have nine players around the box then it is not a striker’s game.

“But it was not a striker’s game more because we did not find him enough. When you play the wrong passes, who suffers the most? It’s the striker.

“We have to improve our general play. We have done well but in this game (against United) it was not so good, especially in the first half.

“But the last game is not the biggest influence on my line-up for this game.”