Jurgen Klopp Reportedly Cancels Liverpool Stars' Day Off, Talks Critics and More

Liverpool's new boss Jurgen Klopp is already making an impact at the club and reportedly cancelled the senior players' day off on Sunday in order to take his first training session with them since his arrival on Thursday.

That's according to the Mail on Sunday's Joe Bernstein, who reported the likes of Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho are among those who were due to have a day off during the international break. Klopp is eager to learn about his new charges, though, and quipped:

"I can’t walk on water like Jesus, but I do like to dive in."

As Bernstein also noted, his predecessor Brendan Rodgers frequently drew criticism in a difficult final 18 months at Anfield after their remarkable title challenge in the 2013-14 campaign ended in the disappointment of second place.

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Klopp, however, does not seem fazed by the prospect of enduring the same treatment should he struggle at Liverpool. He said: "It is normal to be criticised if things don’t work, but I don’t care about that. I criticise myself enough, so I don’t need outsiders."

The German will also have excited Reds supporters by revealing his love of developing young players:

"

When I manage a club, each young player should smile because the chance is bigger for them than it ever was. The door is pretty wide open and I don’t care about experience. Experience is an important point, but not the most important.

Of course if a player is on a top level already and you can hold this for two or three years, then everything is perfect. But the young guns are very interesting. That’s what I enjoy doing.

"

That said, Liverpool fans may be mildly alarmed to hear him utter Rodgers' favourite phrase, as he cited "character" as a huge factor in a young player's development.

The likes of Nathaniel Clyne, Joe Gomez, Roberto Firmino, Danny Ings and many more give Klopp a strong and promising crop of players under 25 to work with, and should they reach their potential Liverpool could become real contenders in the Premier League once again.

It will of course take time, but until Klopp can make a significant impact in the transfer market next summer he'll largely have to be content with working on getting the best out of the players available to him, something he seems more than happy with.

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As B/R columnist Clark Whitney noted, he already has a proven track record in doing so from his time at Borussia Dortmund:

The Reds are 10th in the league and only three points off the top four. There's plenty of work to be done both up front and at the back before Liverpool can be truly confident of finishing there, but with Chelsea struggling they have an excellent chance of doing so.