Friday 27 April 2018 08:38, UK
Trent Alexander-Arnold has hailed the influence of Jurgen Klopp on himself and Liverpool's incredible Champions League run, with the Reds on the verge of a first final in 11 years.
The 19-year-old was handed his debut by Klopp last season and he has gone on to make 40 appearances for the Reds, including a star performance in both legs of their Champions League quarter-final win over Manchester City.
Klopp could become only the fourth manager in Liverpool's history to lift the European Cup, with his team on the brink of reaching the final after dispatching Roma 5-2 in the first leg of their semi-final on Tuesday night.
Alexander-Arnold puts Liverpool's outstanding spirit and style down to the German's almost telepathic nature - and his determination, like City manager Pep Guardiola, that the club's manner of playing is never compromised.
He said: "He's a massive influence. You hear a lot of players saying a manager is like a father figure, and I think that's definitely the case with the manager here.
"He's really encouraging for young players, it's like he can read your mind. He knows what to say, when to say it and how to say it.
"There's times he might think you need a bit of a telling off, but there's other times when you might need a bit of encouragement, and that's what he does as well. That's the good thing about him - he knows what to do and when to do it.
"He understands the game unbelievably well, knows what it's like to be a player and knows that mistakes will happen. But he knows it's how you react to them, and how you keep on going, how to play with the team's identity, no matter what the scoreline is, that we have to believe in our ability.
"The way we want to play is high-pressing, win the ball back as high as possible and play football, and that's obviously what we try to do, and he instils that no matter what the score is."
Liverpool can all but guarantee themselves a top-four finish at home to Stoke this weekend, live on Sky Sports Premier League, but that would not be enough to satisfy Alexander-Arnold on a domestic front.
"It's not just about coming in the top four and finishing fourth," he said. "It's about trying to get third and second, trying to do as well as we can to push on to that next season.
"It's important to push on at the end of a season to set you up for a season. We did that with Middlesbrough last season, winning 3-0, and we knew during the pre-season we were coming back to hopefully qualify for the Champions League."
