Steven Gerrard's interview interruption says…

Steven Gerrard's interview interruption says everything about Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool future

Liverpool may have endured a dismal start to their Premier League campaign, but a resurfaced interview with Steven Gerrard suggests manager Jurgen Klopp is under no threat of losing his position.

The Reds are in the midst of their worst league start since the German arrived in 2015, with consecutive defats to Nottingham Forest and Leeds United leaving them ninth, with four wins, four draw and four defeats from 12 games - a record that mirrors Roy Hodgson's disastrous tenure. Form elsewhere leaves Klopp and his side 15 points off Arsenal at the top and eight short of fourth-placed Newcastle United, with an uphill task to fight for Champions League qualification after the World Cup.

Such form has led to quiet whispers - rarely from actual Liverpool fans, it must be said - that the Reds boss, into his seventh year in charge at Anfield, could be set to move on. A year ago, many around Merseyside would have seen Gerrard as the natural successor, with the former club captain enjoying life in management while taking Rangers to the Scottish Premier League title.

But in an interview on the High Performance Podcast during his time in Scotland, the ex-England international midfielder abruptly interrupted any talk of replacing Klopp in a sign that the German's position in the Anfield dugout remains secure for several years.

The question began: "There are a lot of Liverpool fans watching your success..."

Gerrard cut in swiftly, responding: "The Liverpool fans don't want me to be the manager of Liverpool Football Club. They want Jurgen Klopp to continue to be the Liverpool manager - and I'm totally with all of them.

"We shouldn't talk about this, we have one of the best managers leading our club at the minute, I love him. I hope he stays for a few more years. But I've got a job here. I don't think it's helpful to talk about this and I hope Jurgen stays at Liverpool for many years."

The 42-year-old did make his move into the Premier League last November, replacing Dean Smith at Aston Villa. But a string of poor performances, coupled with a failure to get the best out of an expensively-assembled frontline, forced the Midlands club to sack Gerrard last month after less than a year in charge.

Any hope of a future Liverpool job will require the Anfield legend to re-establish his reputation elsewhere. But Klopp remains confident he can bounce back in time.

"I'm very sure he will come back. When he was at the academy we obviously created a bit of a close relationship and I always followed him. I can imagine it's disappointing for him because of the ambitions he had," Klopp said after Gerrard was sacked.

"But I don't think we have to worry about Stevie. He knows the game long enough and these kind of things can happen. We all get knocks here and there - it's about how you respond. A lot of great managers out there had to leave their previous clubs.

"Some of the best did that quite frequently during their career. They turned up somewhere else, learned from it and found a better situation. Now I hope he takes a bit of time for him because, since he finished his career, he's pretty much working all the time. Maybe use it now for himself to recharge."

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