Pepijn Lijnders describes the shared sense of ambition and passion that has been fostered by Jürgen Klopp at Melwood as a “search for perfection knowing it doesn’t exist.”
European Cup winners last June and world champions in December, Liverpool established a 25-point lead at the Premier League summit before the current suspension due to the coronavirus outbreak.
Klopp’s transformation of the club is underpinned by a culture of continual improvement, explains Lijnders, with the work of each department around him coming together to make critical gains for the team on the pitch.
“We try to support Jürgen in the best way possible,” Lijnders, assistant manager for the Reds alongside Peter Krawietz, told Liverpoolfc.com recently.
“I’m responsible for the training process, Peter is really responsible for the analysis of the opposition and analysis of our team. All the ideas Jürgen has and the way he wants to set up and be competitive in each game, we just try to support him in the best way possible.
“Everybody knows you are a product of your own environment – the better people you have around you, the easier things become. I am blessed, of course, that Jürgen has this trust and gives me the freedom.
“We are blessed [with] our group – and you speak about Peter, me and the gaffer but there are so many people. The departments, how they evolved over the last four or five years, they all search for perfection knowing that perfection doesn’t exist. See how our pitches are prepared each day by our ground staff… these things make us consistent.
“Each department is searching for and has the ambition and passion. I believe that only comes first from your leader and second, that it’s trust and everybody wants to give one per cent more, so the team is better prepared for the next game.
“I think we made big, big steps in this. A big compliment for each department.”
