Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has revealed he still feels responsibility towards former club Mainz and will do what he can to help the side in their battle against the drop in the Bundesliga.
Klopp spent eleven years on the books as a player at Mainz and then stepped into the dugout, leading the club up to the Bundesliga and into the UEFA Cup, before departing for Borussia Dortmund after he could not secure an instant return to the top flight for his side, following relegation.
This season Mainz sit only one place above the relegation playoff spot in the Bundesliga, by virtue of goal difference, and are finding the campaign a slog.
And Klopp, who recently welcomed a group of Mainz fans to Liverpool and gave them a banner given to him when he left, which is now displayed before games, is concerned.
He told Sport1: "I feel responsibility, which I cannot let go."
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Klopp thinks that some of the feeling which helped Mainz achieve promotion, which saw a whole city pulling in the same direction in his time, has been lost.
The German has vowed to do what he can to help the club rediscover it.
"There was no team [in 2004], but a whole city that went up", Klopp said.
"The feeling has been a little lost.
"I firmly believe that it is just sleeping.
"If I can contribute to the awakening, then I will do that."
Mainz ended a run of five straight Bundesliga defeats last weekend when they edged out Hertha Berlin 1-0 at home.
Next up though they face a tough test, with a trip to Bayern Munich to come on Saturday.
