JURGEN KLOPP has called talk of Jose Mourinho being a fading force “bulls**t” ahead of Liverpool’s clash with Manchester United tonight.
There is a growing feeling that Klopp, Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola and Tottenham chief Mauricio Pochettino are the new breed of managers, with their fantastic football getting pulses racing.
Meanwhile, Mourinho’s stock has diminished in the eyes of some after his second Chelsea reign ended prematurely when his safety first style ran out of steam last season.
And there are those who claim his Old Trafford reign has begun in similar fashion, although Klopp strongly disagrees.
“Who says this?” questioned the Liverpool boss. “Four people in Liverpool? That’s bulls**t.
“He has started badly at United? He has won the first how many games? So now you are giving B grades for winning?
“He knows how successful football works. If you like it or don’t like the way they play, why should he care? Why should he care?
“He has won the Champions League more often than I played in it. That is how it is. How can I say who is on the way up and who is on the way down.
“If we lose against Man United and we stand here, you ask me, ‘What about you?’.
“I’m not interested or part of the group that says Jose Mourinho was or has been a good manager.”
Klopp, Guardiola and Pochettino have been lavished with praise for their teams’ stunning styles this season.
The Kop boss loves his teams to press and play with intensity, but he is refused to criticise managers who choose a different way to try and gain success.
He added: “He (Jose) is a competitor. Without knowing him well, I know he will want to win this game.
“But the way to win it is not top of the list [of priorities]. It’s not showing who plays the better football. We want to win this game. We don’t just play to enjoy ourselves and say, ‘Look it’s nice’. We play to win.
“Of course I want to enjoy our games otherwise I have to wait for the result if there is nothing to enjoy during 90 minutes.
“There is not only one way. There are a lot of different ways and the most successful managers in world football had completely different ways.
“If you think Guardiola, Pochettino, Klopp all have the same way, right, but I know nothing about these guys that I could say is similar.
“From my point of view we have our way without looking left or right. We are only trying to do our best.”
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