Jurgen Klopp knows his Liverpool squad must be ready for the challenges of this season’s Europa League
Klopp’s men open their campaign in the tournament when they take on Austrian side LASK at the Raiffeisen Arena on Thursday night.
The Reds and LASK joined Belgium’s Union SG and France’s Toulouse in Subgroup E of the competition.
Asked about his goals in the Europa League, Klopp told TNT Sports: “We never had public goals, we never needed them to go as far as possible.
“First of all, I think we all have to make sure that everyone, from the team that I lead, [but] that we all respect the competitors in the right way [and] that we respect the opponents. [ the right way .
“It’s going to be a huge game for teams wherever we go. For everyone [who] comes to Anfield, it’s a massive game for them. It’s the same in the Champions League.
“But it’s coming here, and we have to be 100 percent ready for it. That’s the most important thing. And what do you say? Not to brag before the night? Why would we talk about anything before the first game?
“We want to go as far as possible. Of course I would like to go to the final, but I have no idea if you can do it because there are many amazing football teams between us and the goal. We have to do it. We will definitely deliver.”
Liverpool’s matches in Europe could offer Klopp the chance to rotate his squad and give the youngsters in his ranks a chance if he so desires.
But the boss says that will only happen if the existing ones prove to be worth the chance.
“We definitely have that,” added Klopp. “Whether the children are involved depends on what level the children can show at that moment.
“That means we’ve got some real talent there, honestly. But it’s not experimental… I think if we don’t have an injury crisis or something like that, we should have enough players for the top team on Thursday and Sunday and that’s pretty much the idea. Then let’s see how to build a team.
“To be honest, I haven’t thought about it yet. In football, long-term plans like that don’t make sense because you can throw them away almost as soon as you get them for whatever reason. So we’ll see.”
