Ibe: Klopp is like a father figure
Jordon Ibe has spoken of his admiration for Jürgen Klopp and offered a fascinating insight into the mindset of the Liverpool manager.
The 20-year-old is thoroughly enjoying life under the German and believes his willingness to give younger players an opportunity has given all the aspiring youngsters at the Academy a big lift.
Speaking to the Independent, Ibe said: “One on one, he’s really good. He’s building relationships.
“The older players, you can see the respect [they have for him]. With the younger ones like me he’s a father figure. He’s cool, you know? He understands. On the pitch you don’t feel any pressure.
“You can see he’s wanted to use a lot of young players so far: like [Jordan] Rossiter, Cameron Brannagan, Connor [Randall] and Brad Smith.
“It’s the freedom he gives you, letting you get on with what you need to do, just making sure you work hard at the same time.
“The thing that’s in his heart is the work off the ball: winning tackles.
“From the youngest player to the oldest player in the team, he’s given them freedom. Say I might lose the ball four times, I won’t hear anything from him, unless I don’t work to get it back.
“He says the last 10 minutes is the most crucial part of the game. Maybe that’s why he’s mentioned fans leaving. We need to build on the emotion and get them excited – get them to stay.”
The England U21 international also spoke about the preparation on a matchday and the encouragement Klopp gives his players in the dressing room before the team take to the field.
He added: “We have a meeting in the hours before we go into the dressing room. There, he’ll encourage us: make us feel good.
“Then in the dressing room, it’s chillout time for a while. We have music on. I go into my own space with my headphones on. The manager, if he wants to speak to a player, will come, sit down next to you and talk quietly, running through things. Before we go out to play? That’s when he builds everyone up.
“He likes us to put the fear into them [the opposition]. It could be Arsenal, it could be anyone; he just wants us to be determined – to be off the wall. When you win a tackle, you see how excited he gets – it’s as if it’s a goal. Every second matters if you want the result.
“Before, I used to build up a lot of pressure inside myself but now I feel cool. I’d like to score more. But first and foremost, it’s the team that matters.
"We can change things around – do better. We can make history. The manager, he helps make us believe.”
Ibe firmly believes he can only improve working under Klopp and admits he takes inspiration from how the German helped young players reach great heights at his previous club Borussia Dortmund.
“They were one of my favourite teams to watch; favourite players: Reus and Götze. They became world class,” he added.