Q&AJürgen Klopp press conference: 'There are 12 points to get and I want them all'

With four games remaining in 2023-24, the Reds head to the London Stadium in the Premier League for a lunchtime kick-off against David Moyes' eighth-placed Hammers.

Klopp previewed the clash at a press conference at the AXA Training Centre on Friday morning – read on for a summary of what he had to say…

On responding to the Everton defeat and the status of the title race...

It's definitely the job and it's a challenge as well because I can't remember I've ever been as disappointed and frustrated after a game like I was after the Everton game. I lost, unfortunately, a lot of games in my life but it was special. We were not there. You see the other two teams playing – Arsenal and [Manchester] City, I didn't watch them but I know obviously about the games – and [they are playing] very positive football, high results. We are where we are in the table because we are able to play positive football. In this decisive area, we don't play positive football – I blame myself absolutely for that. I don't know how it happened but I am responsible for the mood the team is in.

I don't say it's the best place, Goodison Park, for a Liverpool team to play the most positive football – you have to put a fight out there, stuff like this. We lost pretty much all the decisive battles at least. That was really, really bad. But in general it's now like one or two weeks where we are just not, how I said, we don't play positive football. We have chances, all these kind of things, but in the end it always feels we are catching up with something, we try to catch up with something – that's how it was. So now, quick turnaround, quickest possible turnaround, and we have to do that. It sounds already great – 'you have to be positive', something is not right in that phrase. But I will try my absolute everything that I can enjoy a little bit of our football again because that was obviously not possible in the last game, not possible at all. That's it.

I cannot sit here and say I think they still feel us around. I'm pretty sure Arsenal and City see it now as a two-horse race. They might have to say something else publicly but they don't expect for themselves to lose two games from now on – I don't expect them to do that. If they do it, we would be completely silly if we would then not be around. I don't think it will happen, but if it happens then we should be there. That means we have to win our football games, starting with West Ham, against an opponent who, I'm not 100 per cent sure, but [is in] maybe a similar situation as we are because they lost their last game properly. So, they want and have to show a reaction. We want and have to show a reaction. Let's see who can do that better.

On the 'relative inexperience of the group being involved in title races'...

Look, we can mention a lot of stuff. Is it possible that we were a bit tired or whatever? Yeah, of course. It's tough, [a] long season for different reasons, not all the players played all the games but they are coming back from injury. Trent Alexander-Arnold, as an example, played outstanding against Fulham and then against Everton, was it a little bit too much? Maybe, but we need him obviously. Can he be on top of his game? Probably not. Others play all the time or very often, or were injured first time in their career really for a long time, stuff like this. And, of course, not in a good moment one or two as well. That's the situation.

Tough schedule, definitely, but inexperience as well. Did anybody expect us to become champions at the beginning of the season? No, but it developed in this direction. We go now to Aston Villa [on May 13], they – and Tottenham – have a few points less than us, so we still need points to be definitely qualified for the Champions League, which is obviously a real target. But nobody here is happy at all. Because there they are probably happy at Aston Villa, were happy with the situation they are in – rightly so. Just to explain how different it is, we cannot go back to the point where we say, 'Yeah, but it's good enough.' It is very good but because we were that close, of course we are very, very disappointed in this moment in time. That's how it is, we cannot change that.

Is this group not as experienced as the group we had before? Yes, of course. That's the good thing about it – the worst thing about a defeat is if you don't learn from it. We have to learn from it in the short term, not like this anymore. And the boys have to learn from it in the long term as well with a different manager next year, stuff like this, but they will be in similar situations, and that's obviously what they can use in these moments. Experience, you cannot buy, you can only make yourself. We made a really tough one and now let's hope we can use that in the short term for the next game. And in the long term, it will help, definitely.

On the approach for the final four games of the season...

Step by step, game by game – how can you do it differently? We obviously played just the other night and play tomorrow at 12.30, so in 24 hours pretty much, that's it. That's the first game we think about, are concerned about. Then we have the first normal weeks for ages with long turnarounds and that's it. So, don't get me wrong, nobody gave up here. We just need to be realistic. Both of them [Man City and Arsenal] must lose two games. First of all, we have to win four and they have to lose two games. They didn't lose two games I don't know since when, so why should it start now? But if it happens, we have to be there, stuff like this. That's the situation. I'm not this kind of guy, 'We will be 100 per cent and we will get them' and everybody thinks he's a bit dumb – I might be but not in that way. So, that's it, that's the approach. How I said, I didn't like our football and I hope I can help the boys to play better and much more positive again.

On facing West Ham...

David is one of the best colleagues. We don't have time really to spend together but we spoke actually over the years a lot before games or whatever. I like him a lot, respect him a lot. I think he is doing an incredible job, to be honest. I like the team they have, offensively really talented, good transfers. [Jarrod] Bowen, I've said it a couple of times, he's one of my favourite players, [I] like a lot the way he developed since he came from Hull. [Mohammed] Kudus, super-talented, [Lucas] Paqueta, Michail Antonio, top striker. And when Bowen plays up there then they find another solution, these kind of things. [James] Ward-Prowse, super-smart signing for West Ham, I have to say. And then all the other guys settled around.

I think I heard once in a press conference of David when he said, 'What do you want us to achieve?' There are six teams in the league that have to be in this moment in time above West Ham – not all of them are but actually I would say they have to. That means seventh is pretty much the best you can achieve, and they did that and better now for a few years. I really think he is doing a ridiculously good job there, to be honest.

On how he will assess his final season 'if there are no more twists in the title race'…

I would not assess it now. I have no clue. I am not in the mood to give up, to wave the white flag, these kind of things. I just think we have to look first after ourselves, just make sure we play better football. I said after the game, why should a team who plays like us against Everton, why should we be champions? But the football we played before, a lot of good stuff, surprisingly good stuff. In January we looked invincible, undefeatable, with a deflated squad with real problems. But everybody went in the same direction, go for it, we were a real pain for everybody, squeezed out results or played really well. Everything was kind of a mix of a lot of things.

So, we deserve to be where we are, now we have to use it. I want us to use the situation. I want us to not feel the pressure, for whatever reason it is. Yes, the individual performances were not great now; not only individual, that sums up to a not-great team performance in that game and maybe in one of the other games as well. But the boys are incredible footballers. I see it as my job to create an atmosphere where they can be the best version of themselves. That's obviously what I have failed. I don't know how, I have had 40 or 50 hours' time to think about it. I don't know where it happened but I didn't see anything of what we wanted to be at the Everton game, to be honest. So now we had another few hours and now we try to be much more ourselves again.

On how he 'gets Darwin Nunez and Mohamed Salah going again'…

That's always the most tricky thing to do. Strikers not striking or scoring, whatever I say, it's tricky. Strikers have to go through these things, that's a striker's life. A goalkeeper's life is make 500 saves and one howler and everybody talks about this. A striker's life, you score all the time and then you don't score for a while and everybody asks you why you don't score. It's the most difficult thing in the world and can sometimes be the most easy thing in the world, it depends on the assists you get.

We had obviously good chances against Everton. I saw as well we were a bit in a rush in finishing them off. We have to calm ourselves down, create again, create again and try to get in the right positions to finish the situations off. But if there would be the one solution that brings each striker directly back to his best after missing a few chances, that would be a really rich man or woman who could write that book. You have to go through it and I try to help them to speed it up. That says nothing about the quality of the boys, it's just the moment.

Generally our timing is not fantastic for that in the moment, for all of us. We were not great for this last two weeks or so, or parts of that. Timing is not great and I am really sorry for that. It is how it is. And now we have to, if you want, start again. We have four games to go, 12 points to get. If you ask me, I want them all.