Jurgen Klopp has responded to critics that say Liverpool need to win silverware to prove their development under the boss.
The German has taken charge at Anfield for a little over three years, following the sacking of previous manager Brendan Rodgers.
Klopp's arrival at the club was highly anticipated and promised to be full of excitement and endeavour, with the boss tipped to bring silverware to the club.
Liverpool have appeared in both Europa League and Champions League finals under Klopp, although victory eluded them on those occasions.
Despite the Reds clearly progressing under Klopp's guidance, some have insisted that it ultimately means nothing if they don't manage to win any trophies.
Image: Liverpool FC via Getty Images
“That's true,” Klopp said on the necessity of winning trophies. “But do I have to? That might be what people remember but what I have to do is make the best of the things the club is offering me, that is what I believe in.
“If people say the Champions League campaign last season was not a success because we didn't win the final then I cannot change that. Was it the most successful? No, but the ride was brilliant. I enjoyed it a lot.
“Going to the final was fantastic but in life – in all departments of life, including your job – if only the best counts and effort doesn't count then life is shit.
“If I'm not as smart as Einstein should I not try even a little bit because I will never be him? I love the challenge.
“Make the best of it. That is how I learn life and a little bit in football. In the end other people have to judge that.”
Klopp admits that he does feel the pressure, but predominantly over being able to deliver good performances, something he feels he needs to do because “we are Liverpool”.
He says the pressure to win silverware comes from outside the club, but he believes that the Reds are in a good position to do so.
“The pressure to deliver good performances is a pressure we put on ourselves,” he said.
“If you only love the game if you win at the end, and that means if you are first in the table at the end, then that means all the others have to stop loving it.
“You have to accept that you lose. The pressure is there and has always been there because we know that we have to deliver. We are not somebody, we are Liverpool.
Image: Liverpool FC/Getty Images
“The pressure is from outside, people saying if I don't win silverware then I have to leave.
“In the moment you find someone who can do the job better you have to take him, that's how it is. As long as there is not, you have to trust the guy in the chair 100%. That is it.
“It doesn't work the other way around. We feel we are really the right combination 100% – with the club, with all the people. So far we have used it really well.”
Elaborating on the “right combination” at the club, Klopp explained how he feels the club is “100% different” from when he first joined.
He explains how they have tried to take it step by step to improve things and provide a solid foundation for the club in the future.
Image: Getty Images
“The club, the team, the size of the fanbase, the manager as a combination: we should be successful,” he explained.
“Just how successful we don't know because there's only one spot. You can do pretty much everything right but in the end one team can do a bit more right and you don't get it.
“But you don't think about that in this moment. Progress is necessary, you need it to improve everything.
“If you want to talk to me about how it felt three or four years ago, the outside view was that it was a completely different club. 100% it was a different club. It wasn't that easy.
“Brendan [Rodgers] did a fantastic job and in the last few years we have tried to improve everything. We built a new stand, we are building a new training ground.
“We don't need a new training ground today but we are building it for the future. The level we're at now is only the basis for this club to go again.
“That's what we want to do. For that we need good footballers and we've got that. We have to try everything we can to be successful.”
The manager spoke during the embargoed section of his pre-Man United press conference on Friday.
Liverpool vs Manchester United kicks off at 4pm at Anfield on Sunday and you can keep up with all the drama via LFC Globe's live match-day coverage.