Former Manchester United manager, Six Alex Ferguson has backed newly-appointed Jurgen Klopp to succeed as manager of Liverpool.
The former Borussia Dortmund coach, Klopp, walked away from the job at the Signal Iduna park in May and immediately embarked on a sabbatical.
He was however confirmed as manager at Anfield on Thursday on a three-year deal by the Fenway Sports Group owners of Liverpool.
Klopp, who wrested the Bundesliga title for Dortmund from the firm grip of rivals Bayern Munich in his third season, promised to deliver the English Premier League for Liverpool in his first four seasons and Ferguson believes he can do it.
Speaking on Klopp’s appointment, Ferguson told ESPN: “It’s a good appointment, I admire him, I know Jurgen pretty well through our meetings with the elite coaches classes in Geneva (Switzerland).”
Giving the reasons he is tipping the 48-year-old to succeed at Liverpool, Ferguson noted: “Strong personality, very strong, very stubborn, determined, and his performances, his career at Dortmund was a stellar rise to the top and I think he’ll do very well. I don’t like saying that, being Liverpool, I’m worried about it!”
He also took a swipe at club owners preventing coaches from choosing which players to buy and said he did not feel Klopp would accept such at Liverpool.
“If you don’t trust your manager, why have him there? He is the man who should be deciding which kind of player he wants, the type of player, position he wants, his character he wants, it’s the manager who knows more than anyone.
“There’s a lot of this happening in the game now. This Moneyball idea, about look at statistics of players and bypassing the manager’s thoughts, I think it’s wrong. Why give him a job if he can’t do it?
“When they sit around that table to appoint a manager, do they say ‘well, he can be part of the committee’? It’s wrong. I don’t think Jurgen Klopp will accept that.”
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