Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has once again mentioned Burnley while putting forward his desire to reintroduce five substitutions in Premier League competition.
Klopp, who labelled Burnley as "very aggressive" and "dangerous" before likening their play to wrestling after Liverpool's 2-0 win in August, has namechecked Sean Dyche's side on a number of occasions in press conferences and interviews.
And on Thursday afternoon, he used the Clarets as part of his argument while pushing the return of five substitutes.
Klopp thinks having five substitutions in England's top flight is "essential" for the wellbeing of players.
"I didn't open it now but I can't stop thinking about it," said Klopp in his press conference ahead of Sunday's FA Cup clash against Nottingham Forest.
Advert
"Five subs is essential. I think Scotland plans six friendly games in the summer. Not all of them are for the purpose that if you go to the World Cup then you are better prepared, it is for money reasons and I understand that.
"England has four games in a summer where it is the first time in ages where there is no tournament, so what do we do? Oh good we put in some games.
"We speak about how can we rest players and getting through a season but we are not allowed to accept that top class players are constantly playing. We just accept they will get injured more than other people. It makes really no sense.
"Nobody else will stop putting more games in because it is the money, maybe nothing else to do for some FAs.
"It is the first time when these players would have a summer break and after that a normal season with a World Cup in the middle of it. What! How do you think these boys will get through this?
"You have to recover and rest every second you can do so. It is really tough for the boys, not just us but others as well.
"My first year the team had 63 games in 2015-16. No international games involved in that, just club.This year it will not be much less but it is tough.
"We have to think about how we can keep these world class players (fresh).
"Sorry to say but during the international break I don't know how many Burnley players on international duty, I don't know. That is the difference but we let other people make the decisions for the top class players.
"We have to do that (five subs). It is not for an advantage, it is a necessity."
This isn't the first time Klopp has brought up Burnley while discussing the need for five substitutions to return.
Back in December, while arguing that top Premier League clubs have to play more games because of European commitments, the Liverpool boss namedropped the Clarets again.
"As an example, Burnley, I’m not sure how many players of them play international football. When our players have three games, they have no games. So they play 38 Premier League games, cup games – another two, three, four – so that makes it 42.
"So we’re talking about an issue that some clubs definitely have, some players definitely have, but it’s decided by other teams. And because we’ve made kind of a competition of it, other teams are like, 'Well no, they are better than us' and stuff like this. And that’s a real problem, I have to say.
"It’s a real problem because it’s the right decision [to reintroduce five subs], especially in this moment, because you bring players back after a Covid infection or after an injury and because of the amount of games you have to play, they have to play immediately."
Thoughts on Klopp pushing for the return of five subs?
Let us know in the comments.
Topics: Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp, Burnley, Premier League, Sean Dyche
Jack Kenmare