Jurgen Klopp is confident that Pep Lijnders will make an "outstanding manager" in the future, but says Anfield is currently the best place for Liverpool's assistant boss to be.
39-year-old Lijnders signed a new contract alongside Klopp and fellow assistant Peter Krawietz on Thursday, which ties all three down until the summer of 2026.
The Dutchman has previously revealed his ambitions to become a manager, but the signing of a new deal suggests he is keen to continue his education under Klopp for a number of years to come.
When the time comes for Lijnders to leave Liverpool, Klopp says he has no doubt that he will be a success and will not stand in the way of him chasing his ambitions. For now though, the German - who is chasing an unprecedented quadruple this season - believes that Lijnders is in the right place at this point of his fledgling coaching career.
“I know Pep will be an outstanding manager in the future," Klopp said. "I really enjoy working together - and Pete Krawietz - we bought fully into this project. And that’s it. He is not even 40 yet so that is a long time after all this to be by yourself. At the moment we all enjoy the work here together.
“His own ambitions will never stop and I will never stop it. I am a pretty experienced, elder generation manager. That is crazy to say but it is the truth. My big strength is I bring in really good people and then let them flourish.
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"It doesn’t always mean I tell them: ‘No, no, no we did it in the past like this.’ No, I listen [to] them, because they are much closer because they are doing their badges at the moment. It is really interesting what do they tell you now, and now what I can tell them what we did in the past.
“Life is progress and you keep up with all the developments around you and that is what we do. And they keep me on track and I keep them calm and in line and obviously I can help a little bit. We have now an agreement for another while and everybody is really happy for a while. And we don’t hold anyone back.
“What is better? Being first-team coach with massive influence in a world-class club or going out there being the main man in the wrong club and lose more often than not? So we are all smart enough to know not to take this situation for granted. The club has given us the opportunity to build a really good football team. Now we have it so let’s try to be as successful as possible.”
Source : 90min