‘Next season is on my mind’: Klopp looks to the future after Liverpool’s struggles

Jürgen Klopp has said Liverpool must use their remaining matches to build a foundation for next season, insisting: “The future has started already.”

Although the Liverpool manager, whose side face Nottingham Forest at Anfield on Saturday, maintains that qualifying for Europe is this season’s priority, he is also planning ahead to avoid a repeat of its disappointments.

He believes Liverpool produced their best performance of the campaign when thrashing Leeds 6-1 on Monday and that the return of their counter-pressing prowess, plus the integration of new players, will ensure the final eight matches have a lasting benefit.

“Next season is already on my mind,” he said. “We have to build on what we learn now. What we learned this season, a lot, is how it doesn’t work out. From a counter-pressing monster to pretty much a nonexistent counter-pressing side. I thought that was far away to be honest but it was pretty quick. It was pretty much done.

“When it’s gone, it is for different reasons. Frontline defending was not great, midfield was not there. Very often in the last few years the discussion has been about our last line being too high, too risky.

“It has developed a little bit into that over the years. Now when we haven’t defended that well up front any more, all of a sudden the last line was too high but we realise that too late. So how do we stop that if we don’t defend up front too well? Now we know how it doesn’t work, which is good. It is important information. Finally we know.”

As well as tactical improvement, Klopp expects Liverpool to benefit from a quieter schedule in the coming weeks and, longer term, the adaptation of Darwin Núñez, Luis Díaz and Cody Gakpo.

“We have more time in this period that we don’t normally