Jurgen Klopp has urged the media and fans to leave Steven Gerrard alone and let him develop into a manager at his own pace.
The 36-year-old officially hung up his boots yesterday and received adulation from all, but is now expected to take up a less glamorous role at Liverpool working with the Academy under Alex Inglethorpe.
Klopp knows that this role is going to met with plenty of fanfare and he doesn’t want it to get in the way of the development of his side or Gerrard himself.
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He explained that we’re far too impatient for big names to succeed and it’s detrimental to their chances.
“Obviously no-one can wait for the moment. If you want to help the legends, leave them alone,” said Klopp in yesterday’s press-conference, cited in the Telegraph.
“Maybe you can help make more England managers in England in the future if they can start working at the beginning and not in the middle or the end.
“In my first few years (coaching) at Mainz if I was training naked no-one would have seen it – I didn’t do that actually. When people accept you will make mistakes it helps.
“We had no-one around and could fight for a little bit without public interest, especially in Mainz. In Manchester it is the same with Giggs. ‘Where will he go next?’ If you want these guys on the bench let them work and don’t handle them as the players they were before. That is a little advice from a very average football player.
“You are not the only country with the problem. From our 1990 World Champions there are not a lot of managers.
“Being a good footballer is not all you need to be a good manager, but it helps!”
It’s been fantastic to remember some of the brilliant things Gerrard achieved during his playing tenure, but like Klopp – we hope the hype quietens down when he starts working on a day to day basis.
Our priority right now is the first-team and our Premier League title pursuit, while Gerrard is learning his trade with the Academy with an aim to eventually moving up. But with Klopp contracted until 2022, we really hope there isn’t a managerial vacancy at Anfield for quite some time.