Jurgen Klopp is expected to be confirmed as Liverpool’s new manager by the end of this week. But what will he bring to Anfield? Kop favourite and Istanbul hero Dietmar Hamann reveals five things that will change under the former Borussia Dortmund boss…

The style of play

“Brendan Rodgers has told us for the past three years that Liverpool like to pass the ball and play the beautiful game, but it’s very hard to do that and be successful. Only one team has managed that – Barcelona – and to a certain extent, Bayern Munich now, but they are two of the best teams in Europe. I felt at times in the last three years Liverpool did pass the ball, yes, but there was no purpose. They passed the ball for the sake of it and that’s not what I want to see. At times it was pedestrian and it was painful to watch. You will see a more direct approach with Klopp. He likes to play a high energy game and press very early, to turn the ball over in the opponent’s half if possible so you have got only 20 or 30 yards to the opposition’s goal. So you will see a game which is played a lot quicker and a lot more direct than it was in the last few years.”

He will be honest after games

“Too often in recent years the team disappointed and we heard from the manager about the great character in the team. I’m a supporter so I’ve got a rough idea what’s going on on the pitch and what I’ve just seen. I don’t want the manager to tell me the team showed great character when they didn’t, and he [Klopp] will tell the people what’s he’s seen and what he thinks about the team. He will give an honest assessment and it will be what the fans want to hear. Too often with Brendan he tried to tell people things that weren’t true. And this is why people got fed up in the end because it was the same all over again.”

This team WILL have character

“My biggest criticism of Brendan Rodgers’ team was he was telling us how much character the team had got, but if it was lacking one thing it was character. Every time the chips were down they failed. They got battered by Aston Villa at Wembley in an FA Cup semi-final, they lost in the semi-final of the League Cup to Chelsea, they got knocked out of a Champions League group that included Ludogorets and Basel, they lost a League title they should have won – with three games to go it was almost impossible they could lose it – but it’s worth nothing if you fall at the last hurdle and don’t take that next step. If you knock on the door several times it will open. What Brendan’s team did over the last few years is they knocked on the door and ran off. They didn’t try to go through the door. They knocked on it and ran off. That team was lacking character and I don’t think you’ll see that with Klopp because he believes in hard work and the players will have to go back to their roots because you’ve got to work hard and then you can start playing football. I think at Liverpool in recent years it was the other way around. We played football and then, if we had to compete, we did so. But by then it was too late.”

He will change the perspective of the fans and the club

“The club is at a crossroads now. One Champions League campaign in the past five or six years is not good enough and there have been a lot of poor decisions made in terms of recruiting players. The icing on the cake was sacking the backroom staff last summer and keeping the manager. That was the worst decision ever and was never going to work. It’s a terrific opportunity with a new manager for a new dawn because there will be that buzz around the town and you’ve got to rise that wave of emotion and use it as a positive. Liverpool is not the Liverpool it was 30 years ago. It was the most successful club in the 70s and 80s but it’s not anymore. You can’t think, ‘we are Liverpool, and we are the best’. No, we’re not. Liverpool at the moment is a top six team, nothing else. We have to be more humble and put things into perspective. We can’t treat people like sponsors and such like as people who want to come into a top club like Barcelona or Madrid or Munich, which Liverpool was 30 years ago, because it’s not. And from a fans’ point of view, Klopp coming in does not make Liverpool title contenders overnight. They will do well to finish in the top four [this season]. They have enough quality in the team to do that, but this does not make Liverpool title contenders. This is a new era and at the moment Liverpool are fortunate to attract a manager who is one of the best four or five in Europe at the moment. With him coming in, if people don’t take things for granted, show humility and work hard, and the fans support them, I’m sure the future will be rosy and I’m very hopeful and confident it will be.”

He will get the best out of players

“I read a piece this week where he said he’s pretty happy with what he’s got at Liverpool and doesn’t feel it needs wholesale changes. Too often managers go into a new job and three months later complain the players aren’t fit enough, they’re not good enough and that he needs ten new players. This guy says, ‘no, no, I think this squad is alright’. Of course he will want one or two players in key positions but, if you look at his Dortmund team, he brought these players in and he got the best out of them. There were three players in recent years he turned from nobodies into world-class players and all three of them left – Nuri Sahin, Shinji Kagawa and Mario Gotze. They all left the club and they all failed. So that means he brings out the best of players. People say his players leave and can’t play in a different system. No, no, I’m not interested in what players do when they leave Liverpool, I want him to bring the best out of players, and he did that at Dortmund and I’m pretty sure he will do it at Liverpool. And if you’re not on board and you’re not prepared to sacrifice yourself for the team then I don’t think you’ve got a future at Liverpool.”