Jurgen Klopp moving on from Hull defeat and focused on improved effort against Spurs
Sunday 5 February 2017 15:10, UK
Jurgen Klopp has urged Liverpool's under-fire players to silence their critics when they take on Tottenham next Saturday.
Liverpool slipped to a fourth defeat of the season at Hull City on Saturday, going down 2-0 at the KCOM Stadium a couple of days after Klopp had rejected talk of his side having issues taking the Premier League's supposed 'weaker' opposition.
Goals from Alfred N'Diaye and Oumar Niasse were enough for the Tigers to take all three points, adding their name to fellow bottom-half sides Burnley, Bournemouth and Swansea as a Liverpool conqueror this season.
"We have to take all of the criticism," Klopp said.
"Not even a week ago in the press conference, I spoke about expectations at Liverpool and said, 'Come on, it's allowed to have a positive look on the situation, we are still fourth in the league' and everything like this - but after a game like this, it's not allowed to say something like this.
"We expect more from ourselves and we have to show more than we did today. It is my responsibility to make it possible for the players to show more than we showed today.
"Hull are not only a defending team - they played football and were able to, so there were spaces when we won the ball. We had these few moments but not in the right mood, especially in the first half. That's difficult to accept."
Klopp's record against the other top-six sides is much more positive, with just one defeat in 15 games since he took over from Brendan Rodgers in October 2015.
Next up for Klopp is an Anfield date with Tottenham, who stayed within nine points of leaders Chelsea thanks to a Harry Kane penalty in a 1-0 win over Middlesbrough, and the German is expecting a response.
"In a few days we have another opportunity to play football and we can show then that we are ready for all the other games, because it's Tottenham, who are a top team in the league," Klopp said.
"I think it would make sense to play our best in this game and then we have to prove the other thing [struggles against lower teams] later in the season.
"We have to show the answer, to give the answer on the pitch."
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