Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is adamant that building a strong team spirit within the camp is more important than signing big players.
The Reds have been rather active in this transfer window so far, bringing players from pre-contracts signed in January in Joel Matip and Marko Grujic, and also signing Sadio Mane from Southampton and goalkeeper Loris Karius from Mainz.
But Klopp insists that team spirit, as demonstrated at Euro 2016, is more valuable than any big-name player you can bring into the team, as he looks to build a team strong enough to finish higher than last season’s 8th placed finish this year.
He said: “Everyone expects big names and a big improvement because of big names and if you don’t know the players it’s like ‘what are we doing? what are they doing?’
“Some clubs have already done a lot but you cannot prove in this moment what’s really right. What you have to do is prepare the new
“If you want to have proof of the different ways that football can work you only have to look at the European Championships.
“In the end it showed a lot. There were wonderful examples of what football really is – about building a team, creating a bond between the team, supporters and whole countries.
“At the moment nobody thinks about the good games we played last season or the bad games.
“They only think Manchester United have taken this player or Manchester City have take this player and we have taken ‘what is the name?’ and that is it.
“This moment for us it is about creating and building a team for next year. We have to prove our thoughts about the team works.
“I am 100 per cent happy with the guys we have brought in until now. We didn’t have to convince them that Liverpool is not as bad as everyone says, no.
“We have to build a special bond. It is using experience, using the base and not killing the base and starting completely new.
“We can say yes, we were only eighth in the league and that is not too good, but we could have got European football, that is clear.
“You take from it and you make decisions and then go for it. That is what we are doing in the moment. I cannot make the transfers everyone wants.”
By Ben Kelly – @benkelly_10