Football
ESPN staff 8y

Jurgen Klopp was a long-term Liverpool target - Tom Werner

Liverpool chairman Tom Werner confirmed on Friday that the club were long-term admirers of former Dortmund boss Jurgen Klopp, who the Merseyside club hired to replace Brendan Rodgers earlier this week.

Klopp led the German side to two Bundesliga titles and a Champions League final berth in his seven seasons in charge of the club, and according to Werner was long viewed by Reds higher-ups as a perfect fit for club.

"We have thought about him for a long time and everyone who knows football knows he is an outstanding manager," Werner said of the 48-year-old on Friday.

"Obviously he motivates players and when we spoke to him we saw there was a great connection between his vision and what we want to do moving forward. It is very attractive, attacking football and he has said today that he doesn't want to put too much expectation on the near future but we all expect the players are going to respond to him."

Werner thought it appropriate the way Rodgers handled his exit from the club, and stated his belief in the club's decision to hire the former Swansea man three years ag.

"I don't want to talk too much about the past. I thought Brendan's comments at the end were very classy and we have a lot of respect for Brendan," Werner said.

"When we appointed Brendan we thought he was going to be the right manager for Liverpool."

While Rodgers' reign at Liverpool didn't end as either party had hoped, Werner is anticipating Klopp will move the club ahead, saying: "We gave Brendan an opportunity to see if we could improve this season. There was some very good football last season and some not so good football.

"There were some challenges that dealt with injuries and we brought in some new players that Brendan recommended that we thought would take us forward. We are where we are. Brendan is an outstanding manager and we decided to move in a different direction and I am very optimistic.

"Obviously we have a challenge this season and Jurgen said it right. None of the supporters are satisfied with our position right now and we believe that Jurgen is the right manager to take us forward. As you all know we came into this situation with great ambition and I would rather focus on the future."

Klopp is Liverpool's fourth manager since Fenway Sports Group, to which Werner belongs, took over the club in October 2010. With expectations for a club of Liverpool's size and history always high, Werner said he is proud of their current state.

"We have obviously had some great moments in the five years and came very close to winning the league two years ago," Werner reminded.

"Nobody is satisfied today with our position and as owners we are not going to put undue pressure on Jurgen. He knows that there are great expectations and when we look at the timeline I think we have made some improvements.

"We all know the challenge that we saw when we came into the club five years ago and I think we are proud when we walked into the stadium today and we showed Jurgen the new main stand that is being constructed. Until we win more trophies we won't be satisfied.

"Our track record is to encourage stability. There have been more managers than we hoped but I hope Jurgen will be here for a very long time."

In addition to Werner, former Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard expressed his pleasure with Klopp's appointment, posting on social media site Instagram: "Exciting time to be a red...Best wishes Mr Klopp. YNWA."

Exciting time to be a red .. Best wishes Mr Klopp . YNWA

A photo posted by Steven Gerrard (@stevengerrard) on

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