LIVERPOOL -- Jurgen Klopp insists there is more to his style of play than out-running opposing teams, and the Liverpool boss has backed his players to adapt to his high-tempo style.
Klopp has developed a reputation throughout a 14-year managerial career in Germany for building sides with plenty of energy.
To prove the point, his Liverpool players covered 116km between them as his first game in charge ended in a 0-0 Premier League draw at Tottenham on Saturday.
It was the first time this season that Spurs had been out-run by an opposing side.
Klopp, though, dismisses any suggestion that he will wear out his players if they have to play in such a style twice a week throughout the season.
He said: "It's a misunderstanding that has been there throughout my career. People always ask me if it's possible to play this kind of football. When I started at Mainz, they asked me each week. When I went to Dortmund, they asked me every three days.
"The thing is that you don't have to play like this for 90 minutes. The way to learn is to start like this. But if you have the ball, you don't have to run like crazy.
"If you get a better feel for this kind of defending, it's the start.
"We need to have a plan, and that's what we are trying. We don't have to run 150km in a game to be successful. But we have to be prepared for each way we want to play.
"That's what we did. There's all this talk about whether we can do this every day. We need healthy players. But we don't kill the players.
"We train with them. They have the confidence and the skills to do this, because they are young and healthy.
"We ran 116km against Tottenham. Of course, some of that running was not useful, but we did that because we wanted to. That was not the cleverest thing to do, but now we can try to turn the screws in the right way.
"We will get better and better. If you play against a much better team and you are not ready to run more than they do, then you are crazy.
"Tottenham's players have been together for a long time. They are a stable squad. So we have to create problems. That's what we tried to do."
Klopp, who signed a three-year contract to replace the sacked Brendan Rodgers on Oct. 8, faces his first home game in charge when Rubin Kazan visit in the Europa League on Thursday.
The German's arrival has created a frenzy among both media and fans, with Wednesday's news conference at Liverpool's Melwood training ground so well attended that there were not enough seats for all the journalists present.
But Klopp has warned against allowing expectations to get too high.
He said: "I think we have to be patient because in a football way. I hope that nobody is waiting for a 4-0 scoreline after three minutes."