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Jurgen Klopp reckons that legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly would approve of what he is trying to achieve at Anfield and believes the trophies will come.

The Reds host Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday in a game which could go a long way in shaping who will secure a top four place come the end of the season.

As yet, neither Klopp, who has been in charge of Liverpool since October 2015 nor his Spurs counterpart Mauricio Pochettino who has led the north London club since the start of the 2014/15 season have guided their respective teams to silverware.

Shankly, who transformed the Reds from being sleeping giants in the Second Division to a formidable force both at home and abroad, lifting three League Championships, two FA Cups and a UEFA Cup over his 14-and-a-half year reign, famously declared: “Liverpool Football Club exists to win trophies.”

While Klopp does not believe that such a mantra is now redundant, he acknowledges that the importance of qualifying for Champions League football has changed the goal posts somewhat.

He said: “Did Bill Shankly say what he did after one day? Did he say it after one year? Or did he say it when he was in the middle of his fantastic success?

“I am sure he didn't say it after one day or one year.

“The team he had and the fantastic success was when you had a team that stayed together and got better together.

“There were seasons when you only needed 12 players in your squad.

“That's a good situation, a fantastic manager, outstanding club, football crazy city – just go.

“We cannot compare those times with these times.”

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Klopp added: “If you could bring Bill Shankly back into the club now and ask him 'are you happy with fourth?' because he was a fantastic football manager he would have seen that this is the only way we can go.

“You need to do what we are doing to be in a position to win something one day.

“To just want it more desperately than other clubs doesn't make it more likely to happen. That's how it is.

“You need to do all your homework and when the time comes, you have to catch it.

“Bill would have seen that 100% – but unfortunately I never got to know him as a person and that's really a shame because we are doing the same job.”

Liverpool are currently on 50 points after 25 games of the season – exactly the same total they had at this stage of the campaign back in 2013/14 when they came close to winning the Premier League.

However, the difference back then was that in 2014, leaders Chelsea were just six points above them at the time while eventual champions Manchester City were four points above them.

This time around, runaway leaders City, who have just played their 26th game, are on 69 points.

Klopp admits that the benchmark for success is continuing to rise in the Premier League and he doesn't envisage the situation getting any easier in the years ahead.

He said: “City are good – and unfortunately they can be even better next year. I have to say that.

“We have to keep trying. Would a top-four finish be a success? I have to say how that could not be the case.

“In a league like this, to finish in the top four you need 70-something points.

“That is unbelievable because you have to win everywhere. You can lose only maybe four games all season.

“I any other league in the world, with just four defeats, you finish either first or second. In England you could be fifth.”

Former Liverpool man Raheem Sterling missed a golden opportunity to score for City at Turf Moor on Saturday and his spurned opportunity proved costly with Burnley later equalising to earn a 1-1 draw.

Such slip-ups have been rare though and while Klopp expects his rivals to strengthen further over the summer, he has doubts over whether Pep Guardiola's side can be so dominant again next term.

He said: “We all know about City, with all the quality they have and the mentality of being constantly greedy by winning games so late.

“That will not happen every year.

“In the preparation for the Huddersfield game we watched their game against City.

“Yes, City had 80% possession but the goal they scored to win it 2-1 was a freak goal from Sterling.

“They have had a lot of these late goals in different games.

“That's good for them and there is no shadow of a doubt that they are where they deserve to be.

“But if you are to go on a run like them you need that luck – and they've had that this year.”

(Image: OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images)

He added: “What we do know is that the quality of all the teams will not drop next season. Everyone will be better.

“I don't know where that will lead to but the league is about taking another step and we will then have to see who can have the same kind of run as City.

“No team in the top five has had a long run of wins like them.

“That is because City are really good. What the rest of us have to do is to also have good moments when were are not playing like a dream.”

So where does that leave the likes of Liverpool and Tottenham for the remainder of the campaign?

Klopp feels that is difficult to pinpoint specific goals for his players but it just looking for progress on a game to game basis.

He said: “There are no targets for the rest of the season. We know where we want to get at the end of the season. So that’s clear. It’s odd.

“We had Huddersfield at the beginning of the week and we have spoken about Tottenham since then.

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“To know where we want to go is really important but it’s much more important that you concentrate on the next step. Otherwise you will struggle. So that’s what we try to do.

“For this we need to be at our best that’s clear. Tottenham as well. It’s another game where we really need to be brave and to show that you are ready.

“That makes it similar to the Manchester City game. If you make a mistake then Tottenham are there and probably score from it.

“But still we have to try that much that we can cause them problems as well. That’s enough for this week to think about. So we haven’t spoken about the rest of the season.”