Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits that the hype surrounding his arrival at the club increased the expectations on him, but has revealed that the hysteria has died down in recent months.

The Reds sacked Brendan Rodgers and appointed the two-time Bundesliga winning manager in October last year; the frenzy around his arrival reached a fever pitch in and around Merseyside.




The former Borussia Dortmund boss was seen as a messiah by the club’s supporters when he first came to Liverpool last year, and the German admits that the frenzy surrounding his appointment increased the pressure as the weight of expectation was immense.

He added that he could have easily chosen an easier project, but the stature of Liverpool coupled with the challenge of restoring a fallen giant was something he could not ignore.
 


The Liverpool manager told RevierSport: “There are drinking bottles, babygros, dummies and many other things of me.

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“I'm not really bothered about that. For the majority of my life I have not experienced hype surrounding my personality – and quite rightly so. When I arrived here, we couldn't just say 'send the press back home'. So we faced up to it.

“But of course, this kind of hype increases expectations. For us as the managerial team, there would have been easier projects than this one. We could have gone somewhere where we would have known right from the start that we would win 60 or 70 per cent of the games.

“The negotiating position in which we found ourselves wasn't bad. But that wasn't the point for us. We wanted something exciting. A big club, yes, but also a project that forced and allowed us to make changes.”

He admits that his initial days were tough as people expected overnight improvements at the club, but revealed that most of the frenzied hysteria has died down, and he is living a more normal life these days.

“At the beginning people pretended that I could change everything just by laying on my hands and act all surprised when it doesn't work. Of course I noticed all the hype because the paparazzi followed me nearly everyone, but that has luckily quietened down now.

“I can now walk my dog without having someone walk next to me and take photos of me. I can lead a relatively normal life.”