Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp admits he was expecting an even longer suspension after being slapped with a touchline ban for comments regarding referee Paul Tierney.
Klopp was fined £75,000 and banished from the touchline for two Reds games - one suspended - following comments made after the 4-3 Premier League win against Tottenham Hotspur last month.
It means Klopp will be in the stands for Saturday's final home game against Aston Villa, although the second fixture is suspended until the end of the 2023/24 season on the condition the Reds boss does not commit any further breaches of FA Rule E3 in the meantime.
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A number of observers have suggested the punishment is too lenient, and the Reds boss - who had a one-match touchline ban earlier in the season after being sent off against Manchester City in October - has revealed he was prepared for an even greater censure.
"I expected a punishment with all the things we know, and all the things we could hear and stuff like this," said Klopp. "It's okay. I would like to know as always where the money goes, if it's for a good cause then I'm more than happy to pay it. If not, the FA keeps it then we have to talk again, and I think it's a bit harsh.
"Apart from that, people around me were pretty negative, they thought it would be longer. So, one game is okay. It's like the Southampton game, it will be pretty much the same process, I can watch the game from a better position. I'm in contact with my coaches, so that's okay."
Asked if he was permitted to go on the pitch at full-time to join the post-match lap of appreciation on Saturday, Klopp said: "Nobody told me differently. The game is over then. I'm banned for the game."
Klopp will be in touch with the bench during Saturday's game through elite development coach Vitor Matos, and is confident the coaching staff - and assistant manager Pep Lijnders in particular - will cope in his absence from the dugout.
“Nobody will shout like me at them if they don't track back but I will tell the boys if they don't want me to do that in the future they just have to do that now without me shouting," he said. "I sit far away but if the game is not good I could make it happen anyway, my voice is all right at least. Yeah, not a lot (of difference).
"I am really in contact with Vitor so we can speak about everything, substitutions, and apart from that Pep is an incredible coach and he will be out there. I'm not sure how many percent of the things I shout are because the boys, Peter (Krawietz) and Pep, saw it on the iPad and said 'We have to sort this, we have to sort that'.
"It is just without a filter, they can do it directly because I am the only one who cannot watch it back during a gem – now I can do that from the stands. From a watching point of view it is much better position to see the game, it was with the Southampton game and it was super-helpful to see the game from there. I sit next to our analyst and they usually do that but this time they get some support from me."
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