GARY NEVILLE has dissected Jurgen Klopp’s comments about Liverpool’s hectic schedule – and proved him wrong.
The Sky Sports pundit claimed Klopp ‘got done’ during his on-air row with Des Kelly over BT Sport’s lunchtime kick-offs.
Klopp was furious after seeing another one of his players get injured as his side slipped to a 1-1 draw with Brighton.
The manager blamed the broadcasters for his team’s busy run of fixtures and has previously complained about his players suffering with fatigue.
But Neville claimed Klopp is just trying to gain a psychological advantage over his opponents.
The pundit likened Klopp’s excuses to tactics used by legendary Manchester United boss Sir Alex Fegurson.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Neville said: “I don’t think Jurgen Klopp’s got a point around fatigue, around the length of time of pre-season or about the Saturday kick-offs.
“My view is that when you become a winning manager, and this is where Sir Alex got to and why they called him a whinging so and so for many years, the best managers they just want to win.
“The biggest risk to Klopp winning the league again this season is another big injury or two.
“So, he wants to try and gain that advantage to put some psychological thing into people’s minds. Sir Alex Ferguson did it for 15 or 16 years.
“Klopp has been the best manager in interviews for the last few years, he’s been the best manager on the pitch, he’s connected with the fans better than anybody else, his style of football is fantastic, but on Saturday he got done in an interview, and that’s very rare.
“He didn’t get his story right, he hasn’t got his evidence to back him up either in games played or in the Saturday kick-off slots.
“He just lost this particular one having been brilliant in all his other interviews that he’s done.
“He’s trying to gain an advantage to get results, that’s it.
“I played for a manager in Sir Alex Ferguson, and there’s hundreds of these quotes.
“Every single season he wanted that advantage. He wanted the ability to recover more, to play at different times, so it suited Manchester United, and that’s what Klopp wants now.
“What Klopp has done at Liverpool over the last three years is unbelievable, but his squad this season is just wilting a little bit under the fact they’ve had that three years.
“There might be an element of Covid and sport science, but the rest time has been there. The games are not coming thicker and faster than any other season.
“The Saturday kick-offs are not coming thicker and faster than any other season so the exceptional points Klopp is making haven’t happened.”
As things stand, Liverpool are level on points with league leaders Tottenham.
Klopp’s injury-riddled side have won six of their opening ten top-flight matches.
Following the 1-1 draw with Brighton on Saturday, Liverpool return to action on Tuesday against Ajax.
Neville used a table to prove that Liverpool are not playing more than other teams in previous seasons.
He continued: “I don’t think it’s an exceptional season. It’s exceptional in that the players have had more rest than they’ve ever had before.
“They had three months of rest from March until June, they then played nine matches, where Klopp played all his best players even when they’d won the league, and they then had five weeks off up to the Community Shield.
“In any season I ever played in a World Cup or European Championships, I only ever got three or four weeks anyway.
“There’s more rest this year than in any year in football’s history. I don’t get this idea that it’s a unique season. The fans aren’t in the stadiums, the feeling’s not there for the players.”
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