Boss: My respect for Mark Hughes and Stoke
Jürgen Klopp has paid tribute to the work of Stoke City manager Mark Hughes as the pair prepare to go head-to-head in the semi-finals of the Capital One Cup.
Hughes has transformed the Potters' playing style since taking charge in 2013 and, having secured club-record finishes of ninth in the last two Barclays Premier League seasons, he is now out to add silverware to the cabinet.
Klopp will be in the dugout alongside the Welshman for the first time during Tuesday's first-leg clash at the Britannia Stadium, but he knows all about his counterpart's fine work in recent campaigns.
Speaking at his press conference to preview the encounter, he said: “Mark Hughes does a brilliant job there. Maybe the biggest change in football is how Stoke played a few years ago and how they are playing now.
“We know about the quality of Stoke of course. It's a team I know most about because I know most of the players. Philipp Wollscheid and all the players who played in Germany, of course I know a lot about them.
“They're very good, especially Marko Arnautovic, who has made really good development because he was really young in Germany and had some problems but everybody could see in his good moments how strong he can be.
“I don't read newspapers but I've heard nothing about him, only seeing him scoring goals, making crosses and runs behind the lines and things like this. That's like what you could say about the whole development of the Stoke City team.
“I've never met Mark before but I have big respect for what he has done there, good scouting and good style of play.”
Klopp also praised the flexibility within Hughes' squad, singling out a number of Stoke attacking players who pose a big threat to the Reds' hopes of reaching Wembley.
He added: “They can change. If for example, Joselu plays in the centre [up front] then it's a little bit more long ball, many legs defending sometimes but it's pressing, counter-pressing, it's everything.
“They have a clear plan and [Xherdan] Shaqiri is a key player for the last pass on what they are doing. It's good but we have to defend this. It's not allowed for us to leave a player alone with him because one-on-one he is strong and has good solutions. He can cross with the right foot and shoot with the left foot.
“That's football and I like this in football that you have to find solutions for this. That's one thing but another truth is they didn't win all the games. If we find a way to make them problems then we should do it all the time.
“It's quite interesting and a good challenge. We have a good job to do and we can go through.”