Jurgen Klopp says he doesn’t even know what a perch is, never mind whether Liverpool are back on it.
And the Reds boss is adamant no amount of crowing about the balance tipping away from Manchester United , back down the M62 towards west Lancashire, can heap any more pressure on his side.
Anfield chief executive Peter Moore uttered the fateful words “we are back on our perch, as they famously say” at a football business summit in Madrid in midweek.
That refers to the rivalry between the two north west clubs, and Sir Alex Ferguson’s notorious comment that “my greatest challenge was knocking Liverpool right off their f****** perch”.
Moore was referring more to Liverpool’s financial situation, with owners Fenway Sports Group transforming the Reds from the verge of bankruptcy to top five richest in the world in nine years.
But many have pointed out Liverpool will not take possession of that ‘perch’ until they win the Premier League. Klopp though, laughed off the suggestion of added pressure.
“No, absolutely no extra pressure. Not at all. I heard about it but I don’t even understand about perch so for me it is not a big thing to be honest,” he said.
“We are all adults and we say things and sometimes people have to deal with things that I say, and in this case people seem to think I have to deal with things Peter said.
“But I’m not angry about him. I like Peter. He said that and for me it is nothing because I don’t even know the word perch. It is no problem at all.
“If people come to me constantly and tell me ‘are you still on the perch or not?’ I still won’t understand what the word perch means!”
What Klopp does understand though, is that Liverpool are there to be shot at, as Premier League leaders with a five point gap… and a 15 match winning streak in the top flight.
Every team treats them now like Manchester City , an intimidating opponent that even big sides change their systems to face, but also a massive scalp to collect.
For the Liverpool manager, the only response can be to ignore that acclaim, and concentrate on matching the desire, energy and aggression of their opponents.
He knows Sheffield United will possess all of those qualities at Bramall Lane today, and feed on the passionate atmosphere of their fans.
“We don’t think about the 15 wins,” he said. “Thank God we lost from time to time in the Champions League eh, because we still know how it feels.
“That’s really important because we want to change things when we lose a game. We just want to go to Sheffield and make their life as uncomfortable as possible. That’s the plan.
“We are considered as a top team but we don’t want to behave like a top team. We want to fight like a proper challenger.”
“Is it allowed that they fight more than us? No. Is it allowed that they run more than us? No. Is it allowed that they just do more than us? No. We must be there, absolutely spot on.”
Klopp has Sadio Mane and Divock Origi back to fitness, and he also suggested Alisson will be back in action after the weekend, making a return against Salzburg in the Champions League in midweek a possibility.
