Jurgen Klopp was asked to expand on his analogy about the challenge facing Liverpool this season.

“We are still Rocky Balboa, not Ivan Drago,” he had told the assembled media ahead of Sunday's Premier League opener against West Ham.

Klopp loves his boxing films and Rocky IV is a personal favourite – the 1985 fictional story of how Sylvester Stallone's Balboa went toe to toe with Drago, the Soviet fighting machine.

Despite last season's thrilling run to the Champions League final and the arrival of £170million worth of new talent his summer, Klopp stands by his assessment that Liverpool shouldn't be burdened with talk of a Premier League title push in 2018/19.

He went on to talk up the merits of the Reds' rivals. Is he trying to tap into the underdog mentality as Liverpool seek to compete with Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, who were crowned champions by a 19-point margin back in May?

“No, not one little bit,” he insisted. “I don't want to be the underdog. I want to win, and Rocky won by the way!

“It's only the difference. Now we have the best tools of all? It's not true. City were a fantastic team last year and they brought in (Riyad) Mahrez.

Show Player

“Tottenham was a fantastic team ahead of us, didn't bring in anybody but they are still a fantastic young team who will develop.

Klopp: "We need to be like Rocky"

“A few years ago at Dortmund, let me say about the 2012 team or 2011, if somebody said: 'You can keep that team for the next four years or you get this and that player but you have to sell him and him....' I'd have said: 'No, no, I'll keep that team.'

“If it's good, it's good, Tottenham are not weaker than last year, just more experienced.

“Arsenal, a fantastic team, so why should we now be the favourites? We didn't win anything so far. How can you be kind of the number one or whatever if you didn't win so far?

“Our potential is good, what we do with it we will see. I only want from us the attitude that we really fight, not that we are the underdog.

“I am not interested in being the underdog. Yes, it has happened a few times but not because I wanted to be, only because it was a fact.

“I don't see us an underdog, I see us as a team that challenges... the ones who have to do more, who have to run more, who have to jump more. That's all.”

If Liverpool are going to mount a real challenge then they will certainly need to start better than a year ago.

Back then Klopp's men only won three of their opening nine Premier League matches and City had long since disappeared over the horizon.

Are the Reds better equipped to hit the ground running this time around?

“Nothing I could say now would or could influence the start so we have to play,” Klopp added.

“We have created a good basis in different departments. Pre-season was more good than bad, the transfer business was good.

“The training I would say was very, very good. I don't remember a session where I came off the pitch saying: 'We can't use this, it was useless and a waste of time.'

“Pre-season was good and now we have to put in these last 10% to 15%, it is all about now being ready for the start.

“You win 5-0 against Napoli and you come into the first Premier League game and they have one chance and score a goal, and now you have to be ready to deal with that.

Show more

“It didn't happen a lot of times we were 1-0 down, 2-0 down, whatever, but it is how you react. We are not a team on the first day, you become a team during the season.

“At a specific point maybe everything is fixed and you can use that, but until then you have to grow, you have to come together and develop and all that stuff.”