Jurgen Klopp stated during his press conference on Friday that his players took the news of him leaving well but it would still have been hard for them to take.
A lot of the dressing room would have had the best years of their careers under the German coach’s watch and one of them is the Reds’ captain, Virgil van Dijk.
The Dutch star was the first to speak after Klopp announced his decision that he will be leaving Anfield at the end of the season and the defender has stated that he found the news hard to take but that the squad will use it as an extra boost to win trophies this season.
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.”
Virgil on the boss ?? pic.twitter.com/mw1TwnasTu
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) January 27, 2024
