A Liverpool legend has shared his concern that Jurgen Klopp "doesn't look happy with football" anymore, despite a 2-1 win over Tottenham putting the Reds top of the Premier League.
The charismatic Klopp has cut a spiky figure this season, as he's had to deal with a host of injuries. He's given some unusually tetchy post-match interviews and had a tense exchange of words with Jose Mourinho at the final whistle on Wednesday.
Mourinho criticised Klopp's pitch-side antics afterwards saying: "If I behave the same way he does on the touchline, I do not stay there."
Now Liverpool great Mark Lawrenson has had his say, after being asked whether Klopp seems more upset this season than he was last term, on talkSPORT 2.
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"At the moment, although they won last night and he'll be delighted with the way they won, he doesn't look happy with football," said Lawrenson, who won five league titles and a European Cup with the Reds.
"I'm not saying he doesn't look happy with Liverpool, the team or the results, but he just doesn't look happy with football.
"There's VAR, and everybody is peeved about VAR, the lack of fans, and the big thing is the five sub rule."
One of Klopp's gripes this season is that the five substitutions rule introduced for Project Restart has not been carried through into the Premier League for 2020/21. It's divisive, with some claiming five subs helps managers of big clubs with larger squads, with the counter argument being it protects tired players for all 20 teams.
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"I think he's got a point and everyone will come round to that," said Lawrenson. "When he first said about having five subs I thought: 'No, it just makes the stronger teams even stronger.'
"But when you look at football now and the amount of games we're having... it's mad. So I think this could be a special year and I do think they should bring it in.
"And the things with fans, without spectators the game is just completely different. Even last night with 2,000 at Anfield it's just very, very strange."
Klopp is a manager who feeds off a vocal support, as we saw at Borussia Dortmund and at Liverpool since his arrival in 2015.
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So the relative lack of fans could well be contributing to Klopp's fiery mood. However, as a manager who embodies passion, it will be a worry for some LFC fans that Klopp is - according to Lawrenson - having some of his love for the game drained by the events of 2020.
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