Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has shared his thoughts on Jurgen Klopp’s decision to depart the club at the end of the current season.
Van Dijk expressed the importance of giving the German a fitting send-off and called on his teammates to collectively honour Klopp’s contributions.
Klopp sent shockwaves through the football world with his surprise announcement on Friday morning, signaling the end of his nine-year tenure at the club.
The 56-year-old, expressing that he is ‘running out of energy,’ has decided to step down from his role as the head coach.
In addition to Klopp, his trusted assistants Pepijn Lijnders and Peter Krawietz, along with elite development coach Vitor Matos, are also set to depart their roles as the 2023-24 campaign comes to a close.
Despite the impending departure of the coaching staff, Klopp and his team remain focused on their current challenges, with four trophies still up for grabs before the conclusion of the season.
The departure of such key figures undoubtedly marks the end of an era for the club, leaving fans and the football community in anticipation of what the future holds for both Klopp and the team he has guided for nearly a decade.
In an interview with Liverpoolfc.com, Van Dijk said, “It’s a hard one to take, because the manager means so much for us, to me, to the club, to the whole Premier League I think.
“But he made the decision for him and his family. It was always going to be a tough one and it was definitely the case.
“I think it will be a collective feeling and like I said already, I didn’t have any feeling so far that that wasn’t the case. I think [Klopp’s decision] just should give you that extra boost, that special feeling that let’s make the most out of it.
“I think that feeling was already [there], like I said before, since pre-season that we wanted to make things right from last year and we have to keep that going.
“As a fan and as a supporter of the football club, it will also feel that way. You want to be there and you want to be there for the team, be there for the manager. Let’s make the rest of the season a special one so he can have the farewell that he definitely deserves.”
He added: “I think for me personally, like I said, my mindset is making sure our goals that we have and our targets that we are trying to achieve don’t get disrupted by the news.
“That’s what the manager wants as well. We want to achieve a lot of things and carry on with the form we have, with the way we are playing, with the players who are doing so well and keeping that confidence.
“That’s why we have to keep going. Like I said, that’s what the manager wants as well and we have to block out the noise from the outside world, tunnel vision and focus on hopefully achieving success in these months for the manager at the club.”
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