IN FULL: Read Jürgen Klopp’s programme notes for Norwich tie in FA Cup
Read Jürgen Klopp’s column in the matchday programme for Liverpool’s Emirates FA Cup clash with Norwich City at Anfield this afternoon.
“Welcome to Anfield for our FA Cup fourth-round tie against Norwich City, an opponent who we know will be ready to give us a proper fight after coming through a tough replay to reach this stage,” writes the boss.
“The real positive for us – and it is a big, big positive – is that we go into today’s game having already qualified for Wembley in the Carabao Cup, an achievement which I told the players immediately after the game we should not take for granted.
“It was only two years ago that we had some wonderful Wembley experiences but last season was different shall I say, so we should cherish the new moments while also using the old ones as a reminder of what is possible.
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“That competition is now for the future, though, as today we will be involved in another and then we will return to Premier League action, which means the only thing that makes sense is to take the positives from reaching a final while at the same time ensuring our focus does not diminish by even one per cent before we get to play it.
“It will be nice to be back on home ground after successive away games at Bournemouth and Fulham but at the same time I should most definitely say how enjoyable those trips were and a big reason for that is the backing we have had from our fans.
“This support is something else that we would never take for granted. It is special and we could not appreciate it more. We do not need any reminders about how incredible our support is but we are given them anyway.
“Bournemouth is obviously a long way from Liverpool – and feels even further away when travelling back in a storm – and Fulham is not too much closer but still not too easy to get to in midweek.
“At both fixtures we had full away ends with two or three thousand fans making themselves sound like many, many more. This is part of what this club is about, of course, and I could not imagine it ever not being like this but, to repeat myself, I could not love it more.
“Today we should carry the same spirit – on and off the pitch – into this game because it could not be more clear that we will need it. Norwich have only lost once this year, against Leeds United in midweek, and they are a team which has a lot of quality and experience.
“They also have a manager in David Wagner who I know really well, so well that I regard him as a best friend and a brother. Today will be a rare experience for me in that I will want his team to lose and I am sure David will also want me to suffer the same fate.
“Usually, the teams we manage are each other’s second-favourite teams but such sentiment will have to be put on hold at least until the next round of fixtures.
“I am sure we will hug beforehand and hopefully afterwards too but in between there will be no sentiment and neither of us would have it any other way. I have always said that I am aware of the bias that comes with our friendship, as with any other relationship of this kind, but at the same time all of the information I have tells me David is an outstanding leader, a manager who is prepared for so many different kinds of challenges and tests.
“Knowing this is helpful, of course, but the information we have is only good if we use it and the best way of doing this, I would say, is by making sure we are the most difficult team that Norwich could wish to play today. If we can do that, it definitely will not do us any harm.”
Get your copy of the matchday programme at Anfield this afternoon or at our online store here.
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