Jurgen Klopp has revealed the difficulty at being parted from his Liverpool squad over an extended period, explaining the usual close-knit nature of the squad.
Premier League clubs ceased playing and training in large groups several weeks ago after matches were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic, and the table-topping Reds have not yet returned to Melwood.
Instead, they have been doing online video calls to keep in touch and do group sessions, including yoga, using apps such as Zoom.
Klopp says it’s a new way of working and everyone has had to adapt, but the most difficult aspect has been of being away from those he is usually in close contact with.
“It’s so different. Everything is different in the moment and we do all different stuff,” Klopp told the club website.
“When we have these training sessions, I could have never imagined I would enjoy it that much but it’s just the moment when I see the boys again and that changes everything – for a minute, for an hour, for two hours, however long the sessions are.
“The boys are all in good spirits; you feel immediately why you miss them so much, because it’s just an exceptional group. You want to be together with them, you want to have them around, you want to be closer to them than you can be.
“These are the closest moments, apart from exchanging messages with them and asking, ‘How are you?’ and stuff like this. So I enjoy these sessions really a lot. It’s getting worse, the longer it takes. I accept the situation 100 per cent like it is but the longer you don’t see somebody you like, the more it hurts.
“That’s the situation we are in at the moment.”
The Reds need only two wins to wrap up the title, whenever matches are able to be played once more, with Klopp then becoming the first manager since Kenny Dalglish in 1990 to lead a Liverpool team to a top-flight title.
