Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has admitted he feels like the ‘last man standing’ after both Graham Potter and Brendan Rodgers were relieved of their duties as managers of Chelsea and Leicester respectively.
Falling below expectations was a key part of both Chelsea and Leicester’s decisions to dismiss their managers, and some Liverpool fans have called for Klopp to be giving his marching orders after a nightmare campaign which has seen them fall to eighth in the Premier League.
Asked for a reaction to the news of the recent sackings, Klopp admitted he feels as though he is only still in a job because of his track record with Liverpool.
“What can I say about [the sackings]? I think the elephant in the room is why am I still sitting here in this crazy world! [I am] the last man standing!” he said during his press conference ahead of the trip to face Chelsea, who will now be led by interim manager Bruno Saltor.
The Liverpool boss continued: “I am aware of the fact I am sitting here because of the past, not because of what we did this season. If it was my first season it would be slightly different.
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“I am here to deliver. I am not here as a talisman or for murals on walls. I am here to deliver, I know that 100%. I know I am here for what happened in the last few years [and] I don’t like relying on that. I am fully in, and we have to sort it. We cannot continue playing like we do from time to time. I am really disappointed about us that we do these kind of things but now we have to find a way out.”
The exits of Potter and Rodgers took the total number of Premier League sackings this season to 12 – a figure Klopp admitted he was shocked to see.
“I think it’s 12 now, which is an awful number,” Klopp added.
“I think some clubs are underachieving, us too. There are expectations out there, rightly so and if you don’t reach them, you have to accept the decisions.”
