Jurgen Klopp Says 'It's Not Hard' to Leave Players out Amid Call for Consistency

Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has said it's easy for him to leave players out of the side as he called for his players to perform consistently following their 4-0 win over Bournemouth on Sunday. 

Per BBC Sport's Michael Emons, Klopp was asked if it was difficult to take players out of the starting lineup as he rotates his side:

"It's not hard, I am not here to celebrate my squad. I like them but against West Brom they didn't hit the target.

"I don't change my mind in three minutes, but we have to be consistently good because we are Liverpool. I am completely happy having these boys around, Adam Lallana came on and made a difference immediately, and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain creates pressure. But still, I can only line 11 up."

Klopp had made several changes to the team after they drew 0-0 with West Bromwich Albion in their previous match, per BBC 5 live Sport:

Perhaps the most notable exclusion from the starting lineup was Sadio Mane, who remained an unused substitute throughout the game.

Oxlade-Chamberlain started in his place, and it proved to be a shrewd move from Klopp as the Englishman had a superb game, as football writers Joel Rabinowitz and Melissa Reddy noted:

As for Mane, there would have been little need to bring him on with the Reds winning so comfortably thanks to goals from Philippe Coutinho, Dejan Lovren, Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino, but he'll now be fresh if Klopp chooses to deploy him against Arsenal in their next game.

It was an impressive response from the Reds after back-to-back draws at Anfield. Klopp noted the importance of the three points in light of those results and added: "We need to be really consistent, on track and show all the time who we are and that we are all together."

The goalless stalemate with West Brom was the first time since October, in the 0-0 draw with Manchester United, that Liverpool had failed to score.

The Reds appeared to have shrugged off one of the recurring problems they faced earlier in the campaign—failing to take their chances—in recent weeks. After their 4-1 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur in October, they won seven of their next nine matches and scored at least three goals in eight of them.

Per OptaJoe, their resounding win over the Cherries on Sunday marked an impressive record:

All sides will face the occasional game in which they struggle to take their chances, even those with a wealth of attacking talent like Liverpool.

That the blip lasted more than one match is right to concern Klopp a little, and it's important they be as clinical in the coming weeks as they were on Sunday, particularly against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in their next outing.