Liverpool and Jurgen Klopp appear to be approaching a key crossroads quicker than many imagined after such a thrilling 2021/22 campaign.
With the club in clear need of a rebuild, the question remains as to whether the manager will be given the tools to embark on this new journey at Anfield.
“At Dortmund it was clear when I left I said ‘something has to change here – either I go or a lot of other things change’,” the 55-year-old told reporters, as was relayed in a tweet supplied by The Anfield Wrap.
“As far as I am concerned, if nobody tells me, I will not go.
“So that means maybe there’s a point where we have to change other stuff. But again that’s something for the future. Future, summer, whatever, and not now.
“Now we cannot even think about it – we have to play better football now!”
There will be some temptation for a full reset that also sees the manager depart in the near future, though it’s important that any decision made isn’t merely a knee-jerk reaction to the current plight of the squad.
With that in mind, the haunting words of Hans-Joachim Watzke should serve as a warning (as cited by the Echo): “We did not try to change his mind anymore. But that was maybe a mistake. Perhaps it would have been better if we had exchanged the entire team – not the coach.”
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Good players ultimately come and go but, as Liverpool will be more than aware of, truly great managers are the rarest gems of all.
That’s not to claim that the German hasn’t his fair share of the blame to take for our current difficulties on the pitch, though he has more than enough in the way of credit in the bank to be trusted with leading us into a new era with a few select players.
At all costs, we must learn from the mistakes made by Borussia Dortmund and back the head coach even should the times get tougher.