Jurgen Klopp agrees with Pep Guardiola's concerns about complacency setting in after success, admitting it was a major reason behind his decision to sign a new Liverpool contract.
The Reds boss put pen to paper on new terms in late April, committing his future to the club until 2026 before finishing last term with a Carabao and FA Cup double and securing 92 Premier League points alongside a Champions League runners-up medal.
Having gone head to head with Guardiola's Manchester City for much of the past few years - recording points tallies of 96, 99 and 92 points in three of the last four full seasons as a result - Klopp's Reds have experienced a drop-off this term as they sit ninth at the halfway point of the season.
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp has already sent a £250m message to FSG that can speed up Liverpool rebuild
READ MORE: Jurgen Klopp has a simple answer to why Mohamed Salah and Liverpool are 'suffering'
After City's recent 4-2 win over Tottenham, Guardiola questioned the hunger and desire of those connected to his own club, admitting: "I won four Liga titles in Spain in a row and it was not the same going for the fifth. I was not starving enough - too much caviar!
"Real Madrid beat us to the league that year. I understand how my players feel but I am here to stop it. The chairman knows that. I want to be here otherwise I would have not have signed (a new contract earlier this season) but if I lose the team, I lose something. I cannot be here."
Klopp says he can see his rival's point and admits he signed his own new deal at Anfield nine months ago with a view to keeping the hunger for success alive for the long haul on the inside of the club.
"Do I relish the challenge? I think I said it before Pep said it, it's the reason I signed a new contract to be 100% honest," Klopp said ahead of Sunday's FA Cup trip to Brighton. "I knew it would be difficult, absolutely, and yes the last year was super intense, much longer than we could have expected, because who expects to go to all three finals?
"We are positive and optimistic but you cannot expect to go to all three finals and then three weeks later pre-season started and all these kinds of things. I knew it would be difficult, that is clear, but with fewer injuries, I think we could all agree we could have four or five more points.
"It's not a brilliant season but [with those extra points] we are really around the Champions League places and that is a normal season then. The injuries made it more difficult and turned an average one into a bad one so far. That is is the difference. So if three influential, decisive players are out injured (Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino) and you cannot just replace them, it's not possible.
"It's not possible for the reasons we have spoken about; attacking patterns, different styles of play and we don't have time to train on top of that. So if something happens during the season you have three days before the next game, so it is not that you can reinvent football in those one-and-a-half sessions. It's exactly like that."
Klopp's side return to the scene of their most disappointing afternoon of the season when they visit the Amex Stadium for the fourth-round tie with Brighton on Sunday. That 3-0 loss earlier this month was a game the Reds boss branded one of the worst of 1000 games in management, but he insists a difficult few months do not define his Liverpool now.
Klopp added: "I have said it before, I did not become a bad manager overnight. I am not as good as some might think but I am not as bad as some others say. Imagine you would talk to another coach here today. Imagine we won all four trophies and I took a holiday.
"You'd see a different face here [at the press conference] and they'd try to explain [the problems] and nobody would listen. You'd say 'last year was great, now it is not great, so go'. So these kind of things you just need broad shoulders and take it. It's tough, I am sorry but we will go for it with all we have.
"Then to do it in a way people can't wait to go to the stadium again and think 'this is great, it's spectacular, what's next?' So let's go there, it's how it is. How you behave and how you deal with the situation in these moments decides the future as well. That is why I am really happy with what we did so far. I hope we can get through this together and then we will do the right stuff to be much closer and then from there we all know what can happen."
READ NEXT
- FSG stance on Liverpool midfield signings as defender exit looms
- Liverpool could lose millions due to transfer clause problem no-one is talking about
- Naby Keita and two other Liverpool players on notice ahead of busy summer
- Liverpool takeover latest as FSG stance confirmed after Qatar rumour
- Alexis Mac Allister doubles down on transfer stance amid Liverpool links
