Harry Redknapp believes Jurgen Klopp must be a manager, psychologist, counsellor and father figure to his players this season.
Liverpool are enduring a tough campaign after winning just two of their first eight Premier League fixtures. They're currently 11th in the table, 14 points behind early pacesetters Arsenal and 13 behind defending champions Manchester City - though do hold a game in hand on both.
The Reds take on Pep Guardiola's side at Anfield on Sunday afternoon, knowing victory in front of the Kop could reignite their title challenge. Yet defeat could make the idea of Liverpool failing to even finish in the top four feel like a real possibility this term.
Redknapp, who managed the likes of Bournemouth, West Ham, Portsmouth, Southampton and Tottenham during his 34-year managerial career, thinks Klopp needs to show his all-round managerial qualities to ensure Liverpool avoid a poor campaign.
"He has had a rough time of it this season but it amazes me how some people have questioned whether Jurgen Klopp is a great manager," wrote Redknapp in his column for The Sun. "You don’t win the title and Champions League if you’re not pretty special."
Redknapp went on to write: "What Klopp has had to do - and the signs are that he is managing it - is go beyond the usual job description. He's had to be a psychologist, a father figure, and almost a counsellor to lift his players."
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Further explaining his theory, Redknapp added: "Confidence plays such a big part... He’s had to put the self-belief and confidence back in his players, talk to them every day, convince them how good they are - and how a couple of wins can change everything."
Liverpool put in a brilliant second-half performance in the Champions League last Wednesday, recovering from a goal down to beat Rangers 7-1 at Ibrox. Reds fans are hoping that result will spark their season into life after a frustrating couple of months.
The highlight of Liverpool's season so far was beating City in the Community Shield at Leicester's King Power Stadium in July. Since winning the season's so-called curtain raiser, the Reds have had little to shout about - bar a memorable 9-0 win against Bournemouth.
Writing in his programme notes for Sunday afternoon's game, Klopp insisted: "They [City] are a top team with an incredible manager and unbelievable players so it doesn't take a lot of intelligence to work out that they will play brilliant football and get good results.
"For us, it has been different of course [since the Community Shield]. Our path has been more difficult and this has meant the questions are being asked about us instead. This is OK. It is part of football and we have to deal with that."
Klopp continued: "The starting point has to be working together, believing in one another and giving absolutely everything we have whether we are on the pitch, in the dugout or in the stands. This is especially true of this game...it is up to us to do it."
