Use your head like Sadio and subscribe to the Liverpool FC newsletter Sign me up Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

Jurgen Klopp is convinced that no major rebuilding job is required to bring success to Liverpool.

The Reds boss has enjoyed a hugely promising start to his Anfield reign with a five-game unbeaten run ahead of Thursday night’s Europa League clash with Rubin Kazan in Russia.

His predecessor Brendan Rodgers often bemoaned not having the “tools” to do the job to the best of his ability but Klopp insists he has no complaints about the squad he inherited.

Klopp says players written off as bad buys during Rodgers’ tenure are starting to prove their critics wrong.

The German coach quickly set about overhauling his squad when he took over at Borussia Dortmund in 2008 but insists change isn’t required on that scale at Liverpool.

“It is a completely different situation,” Klopp said.

“They are all Liverpool players here. Decisions that were made in the past were not as bad as maybe some people think. It is not a coincidence they are here.

“When I saw the squad – when on my holiday – I thought ‘good job, I can work with this’.

“Yes, we have some injuries but players will come back. It’s a good squad. It’s even good for those players who can’t play in this moment to see how we work.”

Players now energised

Klopp believes part of the ‘bounce effect’ from his appointment is down to giving a clean slate to all members of the squad. Players demoralised previously now feel energised.

“Of course it is like this in a positive way where everyone says it’s a new chance and all the players feel more important than before,” he said.

“That’s normal after they’ve been judged for a few years. Everyone has judged them.

“I asked many people at LFC and they told me about him, him and him. I said ‘stop it, I don’t want to hear any more’.

“I said I didn’t want to hear about my players any more. I wanted to watch and start learning about them.

“They are all nice guys with big skills with big passion - all that we need and now we can work together.

“That’s all I want to do and not think of anything different.

“Everything is so bam, bam, bam.... next game, next game, next game. I enjoy all the games we have but I enjoy it more when we win.”

In the early days of his Anfield reign, Klopp frequently referred to the lack of belief in Liverpool’s squad following a succession of damaging setbacks.

However, he admits that the manner of last weekend’s 3-1 triumph over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge has provided a much needed boost.

Momentum is building. Now they are gunning to become the first English club to avoid defeat away to Kazan. Chelsea, Tottenham and Wigan have all been swept aside previously.

“We are feeling confident in this moment,” Klopp said.

“It was very important for us last Saturday in London.

“It was far from the perfect match. But it was good enough on the day.

“We took the next step and there were important signs from the team about how they can handle situations in a game.

“It was a perfect row of situations. Concede the goal, stay in the game, strike back. It was really cool.

“Now we want to take this feeling and keep this feeling for Thursday’s game.”

Show of unity

The show of unity at Chelsea pleased Klopp as much as the result.

“It seems that we’ve been working together for longer than three weeks,” Klopp said.

“We are pretty close together. We have many meetings but not that often on the training pitches because it’s not possible in this moment.

“When we are on the pitch, the lads are really concentrated. It’s good work.

“We try to give them some information but not too much. Just what we think is for the moment and try to analyse the games together.

“They don’t have to close spaces because I say, they have to want to. That’s the big difference. They have to understand why they close that space.

“We have talked about high intensity and when it gets better and better you don’t have to run.

“Counter-pressing sounds like the most intensive thing but it isn’t. It saves energy and stops us running in the other direction.

“It means you have all your power for your football possession. You can make better decisions. The feeling is good from my side. I feel the players like working with us.”

A crowd of around 42,000 – close to capacity – is expected at the Kazan Arena.

Rubin Kazan, who drew 1-1 at Anfield a fortnight ago, will be playing their first game back at their home ground.

They were shifted to the city’s Central Stadium when the Kazan Arena hosted August’s World Swimming Championships.

Do you agree with Jurgen Klopp that there's no major rebuilding job needed at Liverpool?