Jürgen Klopp met with the media ahead of Liverpool's clash with West Ham United. He addressed the superb play of Diogo Joto at length, spoke about how dangerous the Hammers are, and discussed the club's prospects for European qualifying.
Forward Diogo Jota has fought through injuries for much of the season, but now he is 100 per cent healthy and fans can see the production. Jota has scored 4 goals in the last 2 matches.
“He is an exceptional player; since Diogo joined us he did exceptional stuff for us,” Klopp said. “Super-smart player, can play really different positions, has a few super-interesting skills for an offensive player. If Diogo can stay fit he is really an outstanding player because he knows how football goes. He is one of these players who could discuss probably the whole day about things in football because he is thinking a lot himself. It makes it really simple to work with him.”
Even though West Ham United sit 13th on the table, Klopp says they have been in good form as of late. He also shared his mutual respect for Hammers boss David Moyas.
“Someone told me at the beginning of the season that I was the second oldest manager in the league and David was the first. Now he has to stay,” Klopp joked. “They have a good team and they are starting to show that quality again. If they can go through a game or a season without injuries, they can do some really good stuff. Really dangerous, difficult game for us.”
While it is technically still possible for Liverpool to qualify for the Champions League next season a spot in the Europa League is much more likely. They sit 3 points behind Tottenham with a game in hand over Spurs for 5th place, but Klopp is not really focused on European qualifying at the moment.
“Yeah that's true, but you can say the same about West Ham, too,” Klopp said. “They have found their feet also. We have to still prove ourselves We can not talk about consistency when you just win two games, especially when in the last game, we were not perfect.”
This is not going to be an easy game for Liverpool. He deservedly praised West Ham and David Moyas while deflecting questions about possible European qualifications. He prefers to focus on this match. Obviously, Klopp is also thrilled with the form Diogo Jota has been in lately. It makes one wonder where the Reds would be if Jota had been healthy all season.