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While Slaven Bilic was urging his West Ham stars to stay focused, Jurgen Klopp says he spoke just three words to his Liverpool flops.

They probably weren’t suitable for a family newspaper.

In fact, you can decide for yourselves what they may have been.

Considering the fact that the Reds couldn’t defend, couldn’t score and were hopeless in midfield in Saturday's 2-0 loss at Upton Park, you wouldn’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to guess correctly.

West Ham’s first season double over Liverpool in 51 years was achieved for the loss of zero goals, with five scored.

Reality is biting hard at Liverpool, and for Klopp in particular.

In pictures — West Ham 2-0 Liverpool:

Right now, it is West Ham looking like the top four challengers. Liverpool are an inconsistent, mid-table mess.

Since his arrival in October, Klopp has been feted as though he turned up wearing one sandal.

So Brendan Rodgers will have been pouring himself a large one as the problems that cost him the Anfield job resurface for his replacement.

After Saturday's surrender, the charisma that characterised Klopp’s early press conferences had long gone.

In its place were frustration, anger and a barely-disguised contempt for the lack of application that cost Liverpool dear.

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“I only told the players three words after the game,” said the German. “But we [will] have to speak about it again, because it was not the worst game I ever saw in my life.”

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Michail Antonio headed in after ten minutes from Enner Valencia’s cross.

Liverpool old boy Andy Carroll did the same from Mark Noble’s cross ten minutes after half-time.

While West Ham were organised, direct and clinical, Liverpool were over-elaborate, toothless and appeared unable to believe that they couldn’t take home the points simply because of who they were.

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Stoke will slaughter them on Tuesday night in the first leg of their Capital One Cup semi-final if they produce anything like they did here at the Britannia.

Bilic ordered his men to play to Carroll’s strengths and won. Klopp wanted his men to do likewise with Christian Benteke, but ended up blasting their preference to play like fancy-dans.

Saturday's goals as they went in:

(Image: Christopher Lee/Getty) (Image: Clive Rose/Getty)

Klopp added: “West Ham played the first ball to Andy Carroll very easily. But under pressure we tried to play those first balls either on the half-volley or to players’ chests. What were they doing?”

And what has happened to Benteke?

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When Liverpool signed him in the summer, he was seen as the striker to solve their problems up front with Daniel Sturridge hardly ever available.

The Belgian has been a bitter disappointment and appears not to want crosses to feed on. His demand for the short ball to feet was highlighted - and criticised - on Saturday evening's Match of the Day.

Hours earlier on BT Sport, ex-Reds striker Michael Owen laid into a lack of application that Benteke himself had claimed beforehand he was ready to address.

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Asked about Owen’s comments, Klopp’s refusal to meet them head on and defend Rodgers' £32million summer buy was striking.

“It’s not the game to pick one player out and talk about this,” he said. “I have no idea what he [Owen] spoke about, but take this from me – we could not do what we should have done at very precise moments, and that’s why we lost.”

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