Paul Ince has dismissed theories that Jurgen Klopp has been "too loyal" to certain Liverpool players and believes the German will turn their fortunes around following a drab 0-0 draw against Chelsea.
The Reds currently sit seven points behind fourth-place Tottenham in the race for a Champions League place. They have a game in hand on Spurs, but Newcastle, Brighton and Manchester United are also well in the running to finish inside the top-four this season.
It could come down to the wire, with Liverpool's fixtures set to turn for the better after their game against Arsenal on Sunday. Even if Liverpool do qualify for the Champions League, there is expected to be a major overhaul to his .underperforming squad at the end of the season.
Micah Richards claimed that Klopp may need to be a bit more brutal as he gets set for a huge change of events at the club in the summer. He wrote in the Daily Mail: "Klopp has been too loyal to some of the men who have been with him throughout and a little too slow in refreshing."
However, former Liverpool midfielder Ince doesn't think that has been the case. Speaking to the Sporting Post, he said: "I'm not so sure. Klopp’s been absolutely amazing for Liverpool. It's tough when you think about what he's brought to the city, what he's brought to the fans, to the people of Liverpool. It's been an unbelievable journey.
"Sir Alex Ferguson was so great because he knew when he had to try and change players, and bring in other players. To oversee the transition from the older generation to the new generation. There was always one or two players that had to be changed.
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"Klopp knows that he needs to rebuild, but it doesn't mean that the likes of Jordan Henderson and Fabinho can't do a good job at Liverpool. I don’t think Klopp’s that way - where he’ll want to stay loyal to players for the sake of it.
"I think Klopp knows what he wants and at the moment he's not getting it and he'd be disappointed with the form at the moment. At the end of the day they’ve still got a chance and we have to see what happens."
Liverpool's goalless draw against Chelsea leaves them with an outside chance of jumping into the top four places. Speaking after the game, Klopp said: "Both teams played last year in two finals, two of the best 0-0s I ever saw.
"It was two teams low on confidence but really fighting. We’re fine with a point, a lot of good stuff. We showed a lot of fight. We have to keep going. We struggled with the last line in the beginning but changed three times. The balls in behind were tricky but then we recovered well. We got better into the game."
