Despite seeing his Liverpool side thrash West Ham 5-1 on Wednesday night, Jurgen Klopp still had one big grievance to air when speaking to the media afterwards.
The manager was less than impressed with the atmosphere inside Anfield, which also came in for criticism from Gary Neville during the goalless draw against Manchester United last weekend.
The Reds will play at the venue for the third time in seven days when they welcome Arsenal to town for a top-of-the-table Premier League clash on Saturday evening, and the 56-year-old has implored the home fans attending that game to play their part in trying to help his players.
Klopp said last night (via Liverpool Echo): “I thought in the first half when the boys played really exceptionally, it was a long time ago now, but I have to say I was not overly happy with the atmosphere behind me. I asked people what do they want?
“Arsenal didn’t play this week. They prepared for this game and anyone who knows anything about them knows they will be prepared, so we need Anfield on their toes from the first second, without me having an argument with the opposition coach or whatever. We need you from the first second.
“If it is too much football in December, I’m sorry we have to play as well. If you are not in the right shape, give your ticket to somebody else. It was not negativity, it was just not the excitement I felt the performance deserved. There were so many good performances but we were only 1-0 up.
“We had so many challenges to be celebrated and we had a lot of chances, but if it is the warming up for Saturday then I am happy.”
The atmosphere at Anfield has been a talking point among Liverpool supporters throughout the season, with many fans airing their dissatisfaction on social media over its subdued nature for some fixtures.
It was surprisingly flat for the United game last Sunday, especially with the capacity increasing to 57,000 after the new top tier of the Anfield Road Stand opened, and we’ve seen over the years what a huge asset a raucous home support in L4 can be for the Reds.
The visit of Arsenal on Saturday should have the stadium rocking, especially under the floodlights for the 5:30pm kick-off, and it was interesting that Klopp referenced the incident from the fixture two years ago, when a touchline spat with Mikel Arteta sparked the crowd into life as LFC went on to win 4-0.
We’ve become accustomed to opposition supporters trying (and failing) to wind us up with chants of ‘This is a library’, but when Liverpool’s own manager is publicly decrying a lack of noise at Anfield, that should strike a chord with match-going Reds.
The massive top-of-the-table showdown in two days’ time offers the perfect opportunity for every home fan to show the manager that they were listening and duly intend to give him what he wants. At the same time, let’s hope those in red on the pitch also do the business to whip the crowd into a frenzy.
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Just no idea where this lack of atmosphere is rumour is coming from. I was there last night and there in Sunday. I’ve been going to games for the last 4 years. The only time I’ve ever felt the atmosphere being flat was the group stage of Europa. Hoping now we’re in the knockouts it will improve. Other cups and league have always been bouncing.