“MY TIME FAR FROM OVER,” SAYS JURGEN KLOPP IN RESPONSE TO STEVEN GERRARD ANFIELD LINKS
Jurgen Klopp has downplayed the talks linking new Aston Villa manager and Liverpool legend, Steven Gerrard, to the Anfield job in the near future, saying his time at Anfield is “far from over”.
Speaking at the Liverpool versus Arsenal pre-game press conference, Jurgen Klopp hailed the new Aston Villa boss but quickly put to bed all talks about him leaving the Merseyside club any time soon for the Liverpool legend, who has been touted as a future Liverpool manager.
“I saw Stevie say a lot of nice and smart things,” the 54-year-old German said at the pre-game presser on Friday. “I don’t have to think about these kinds of things at the moment, thank God, because we are in the middle of this season and that’s all we are focused on.
“No other manager gets asked that often about what happens in three or four years. I didn’t think about [it] and I don’t want to think about it.
“It’s all fine how it is. It’s over when it’s over, but it’s far away from being over so let’s focus on that.”
Steven Gerrard only focused on Aston Villa job
Aston Villa paid £3 million in compensation to secure Gerrard from Rangers for the remainder of the season in early November 2021, and the 41-year-old manager has fully settled into his new role since then, with the Premier League being familiar territory to him.
Speaking at his inaugural pre-match press conference in response to a question that he has had to answer many times since he took his first steps into management, Gerrard emphasised that he is focused on Aston Villa for as long as his contract is in play.
“I think everyone knows all around the world what Liverpool means to me but my focus is very much on Aston Villa. I’ve said that I am all-in and I can promise our supporters that that’s the case,” Gerrard told reporters ahead of the Brighton-Villa game.
Jurgen Klopp believes Gerrard can become Liverpool manager in the future
Jurgen Klopp is Liverpool’s most successful coach in recent history, and fans would rather have him spend the rest of his career at Anfield, just like Sir Alex Ferguson did at Manchester United.
The 59-year-old German still has three years left on his current Liverpool contract, but with his comments following the Gerrard question, fans can look forward to a possible extension in the future.
Klopp, however, has talked up the new Aston Villa boss’ chances of managing the Merseyside club in the future, describing his managerial career so far as ‘perfect’ and solid enough to prepare him for the Anfield job.
He told Sky Sports, “Stevie is doing everything right so far, getting some experience here with the academy, taking his coaching experiences to Rangers, being very, very, very successful there, then he has made the next step. So far it has been the perfect career.
“While I’m here, it’s difficult but of course [he can be Liverpool’s future manager]. But it is important that from now on that the Steven Gerrard Aston Villa chapter starts and that’s exactly what will happen.”
