(Reuters) – Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp said he already has his sights on the next season, urging the team to use their remaining games to build a strong foundation.
Liverpool have had a disappointing run in the Premier League this season, with Klopp’s side eighth in the standings with 47 points – nine adrift of the fourth spot that ensures qualification for the Champions League next season.
Klopp, whose team thrashed Leeds United 6-1 on Monday, has made tactical changes in recent weeks as the Merseyside club look to rebuild ahead of the next campaign.
“So the future has started already, let me say it like this, but while we are here we have to win football games now,” Klopp told reporters on Friday.
“If we don’t qualify for any European competition, it would obviously be a massive disappointment, but we should make sure it doesn’t waste time during that period.
“I hope we can take some things from this season which are more useful than just telling us it was the wrong way.”
Liverpool, who were knocked out of the Champions League last 16 in March, host relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
(Reporting by Manasi Pathak in Bengaluru; Editing by William Mallard)
