Liverpool vs. Rubin Kazan: Key Jurgen Klopp and Lucas Leiva Quotes from Presser

A bullish Jurgen Klopp intervened to stop journalists asking “self-answering questions” to Lucas Leiva at his press conference on Wednesday and was also critical of the Football Association over the injury accrued by Jordan Rossiter.

Lucas, who was alongside the new Anfield chief during the media briefing, had high praise for Klopp when asked about his impact, per Joe Mewis of the Daily Mirror: “He’s been successful before. There is always a comparison between managers, but he’s had his own style, very demanding but it’s an honest group here."

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However, the German wasn’t happy with the line of questioning, per Mewis: “Will you always ask the players about the manager? If Lucas thinks I’m an idiot, he’s not going to be able to say here! Why are you asking self-answering questions?”

As we can see courtesy of Ian Croll of the Liverpool Echo, even though Klopp was a little annoyed, he did seem to be enjoying the press conference otherwise:

Klopp was also critical of the FA over the amount of minutes played by Rossiter and the subsequent hamstring problem he suffered.

The 18-year-old picked up the knock during his time away with England’s under-19 team, as he took part in matches against Macedonia, Finland and Italy. The manager insisted playing so many games at such a young age is detrimental to the development of young players, per Mewis:

"

I will have to talk to someone [at the FA]. It’s not okay. There’s no doubt about it. It was a hamstring. It was not on the flight, on the train or in the car, it was in the match. These young players are our future.

If we handle them like horses, we get horses.

"

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The clash against Rubin Kazan will be Klopp’s first at Anfield since taking the top job and he insisted he’s keen to experience the iconic atmosphere this stadium conjures on these sorts of nights, per Liverpool’s official Twitter feed:

Klopp also provided some updates on the fitness of a host of key players, revealing he is hopeful Daniel Sturridge will be back in time for Sunday’s game against Southampton, per Andy Kelly of the Liverpool Echo:

There was also some time for the former Borussia Dortmund manager to reflect on his first game in charge, when Liverpool drew 0-0 with Tottenham Hotspur.

It was a match in which there were a lot of positives to take. While the Reds were profligate in possession, the intensity with which the team pressed, the organisation and the willingness to be first to every ball certainly set an encouraging template moving forward. Klopp said he thought it was a solid beginning, per Mewis:

"

Tottenham felt good, it was a step in the right direction. It wasn’t perfect but we were happy. We had a good meeting after the game, we did the next step and now this is a completely different game.

Tottenham for the first game was a little bit tough, now we have another opponent who are not in the best situation. They changed manager so it’s a big chance to get a good feeling and confidence.

"

Rui Vieira/Associated Press

Klopp was coy about a few other things in the press conference, including whether or not he would be making wholesale changes for the clash with Rubin, as is common practice for English sides in this competition, per Kelly. He was also asked if he had received any offers from Russian clubs during his sabbatical, responding “I don’t know,” per Croll.

The Liverpool boss also felt obliged to apologise to the Russian translator alongside him after giving one particularly long answer, per LFCTV:

It’s going to be a special moment for Klopp walking out at Anfield and while it may not be as grand an occasion as the club has enjoyed down the years, for his first home game to be a European night seems fitting. After all, the German will be intent on bringing these kinds of glittering occasions back to Merseyside on a much more regular basis.

Winning a trophy in his first season in charge would be a wonderful way to set up his Liverpool legacy and the Europa League provides an excellent opportunity for him to secure silverware. With the winner to be fast-tracked into next season’s Champions League, triumphing in the final in Basel next spring would be an ideal way for the new boss to clinch two primary objectives in his first term.