Ferguson ‘worried’ Klopp will impress at Liverpool

Matt Stead

Sir Alex Ferguson has admitted that Liverpool’s appointment of Jurgen Klopp has left him “worried” as he feels the German will do well at Anfield.

Former Borussia Dortmund manager Klopp has been appointed by Liverpool on a three-year contract to replace Brendan Rodgers, and gave his first press conference on Friday.

The appointment of the German has delighted Liverpool fans, and former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson admits he believes the manager will “do well” at the club.

“It’s a good appointment. I admire him,” Ferguson told ESPN. “I know Jurgen pretty well from our meetings at the coaching classes in Geneva.

“He’s got a strong personality, very stubborn, very strong, determined. His career at Dortmund was a stellar rise to the top and I think he’ll do very well. I don’t want to say that with it being Liverpool; I’m worried about it!”

“He’ll do well.”

Ferguson was also asked on Liverpool’s transfer committee, with said structure coming in for intense criticism under Klopp’s predecessor Brendan Rodgers. The German insists he has no problem working under a committee and has confirmed he will have the final say, but Ferguson voiced his concerns and disbelief at Liverpool’s continued insistence on using one.

“If you don’t trust your manager, why have him there? You’ve got to trust your coach.

“He is the man who should be deciding which kind of player he wants, the type of player and the position he wants, the character he wants. It’s the manager that knows more than anyone about who he wants to coach.

“There’s a lot of this happening right now, this moneyball idea about looking at statistics. It bypasses the manager’s thoughts. I think it’s wrong. Why give him a job if he can’t do it? When they were sitting around a table to appoint the manager, do they say: ‘Well, he can be part of the committee’? It’s wrong. I don’t think Jurgen Klopp will fully accept that.”

We’re guessing Ferguson didn’t listen to his press conference…