da wazamba： Virgil van Dijk admits to being unsure whether he will form part of a “new era” at Liverpool, with Jurgen Klopp preparing to step down as manager.
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German coach will leave in the summerNew boss required on MerseysideBig decisions lined up on & off the fieldGOALWHAT HAPPENED?
Anfield has been rocked by the news that Klopp, who has led the club to Premier League and Champions League titles, will be walking away at the end of the current campaign. Questions are now being asked of various other prominent figures on Merseyside, with Van Dijk having only 18 months left to run on his contract.
AdvertisementWHAT VAN DIJK SAID
The Dutch defender has said when asked what his future holds: “Will I be part of the new era? That's a big question. I don't know. Eighteen months left? That's correct. Good maths. I don't know. The club will have a big job on their hands, that is well known. To replace not only the manager but the whole staff and there are so many things that will change. I'm very curious which direction that will go in but when that will be announced we will see our situation. I can't say much about it. It will be the end of Jurgen Klopp's era and I am still part of it – that's why I don't like to talk about it. That is my main focus. We will see at the end of the season, hopefully we will have the success we all dream of and by then probably there will be more clarification about what the club wants for the future and then we will see.”
GettyTHE BIGGER PICTURE
Klopp’s announcement came out of the blue, as he has a contract through to 2026, and Van Dijk admits to feeling more responsibility now as club captain. He added: “Of course, I definitely felt like that because there are loads of questions everyone wants to ask each and everyone of us. The manager said it in his press conference: ask everything there and then we go back to focusing on what we want to achieve and that's how I see it as well. We can speak about the situation about what will happen next year every week but it doesn't change, it's noise we don't need and that's why we focus on getting the job done and that's why I feel nothing has changed.
"It is still the same but at the end of the season there will be different things happening of course but that is for the club to sort out. Nothing has really changed. Obviously things will change at the end of the season and in the new season but at the moment it doesn't and we have to keep doing the same things. It's easier said than done but I sense the rest of the boys think like that as well and it is the job for me to ensure we keep it that way. I don't think it could be an insult to your professionalism (to let Klopp's news affect you), we are all human beings and we have emotions – some players feel different about the manager's announcement than others: that's absolutely normal because everyone thinks in different ways but I didn't notice the professionalism being dropped or the level of standard. The training sessions I have seen in the last couple of days were not different than before."
WHAT NEXT FOR LIVERPOOL?
Liverpool’s first outing in the aftermath of Klopp dropping his departure bombshell saw them breeze past Norwich in the FA Cup fourth round, with the Reds set to be back in Premier League action on Wednesday when playing host to Chelsea.