"He's rattled!" - Agbonlahor claims his feud with Jurgen Klopp is the cause of Liverpool's recent struggles

Gabby Agbonlahor believes his feud with Jurgen Klopp to be the cause of their poor performances lately.

Liverpool have endured a tricky season under the German, and currently sit 16 points off league leaders Arsenal, and seven points off the Champions League places.

And the former Aston Villa player has attributed their drop in form to his personal comments, believing he has "rattled" the Reds boss.

The pairs' quarrel started after Agbonlahor sarcastically referred to Klopp as "Mr Mentality Monster" in October, mocking Liverpool's 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest.

There is no denying that Liverpool have been far from the 'mentality monsters' they have been compared to in recent years, losing to Leeds, Nottingham Forest and most recently Brentford in the Premier League.

Agbonglahor: "He's rattled!"

The talkSPORT pundit originally attacked Klopp last year, stating: "Mr Mentality Monster, Jurgen, five games away from home without a win this season – can he only get them up for home games at a full Anfield?

"Can he not get his 'mentality monster' team up for away games? Because today was shocking from Liverpool. Every player apart from Alisson was below a five out of 10 today."

Days later, during press conference before Liverpool's trip to Old Trafford, Klopp bit back: "I listened to Gabby….,' appearing to misplace his surname.

"He lost against us 6-0 in my first season and I don't remember him being a mentality monster on the pitch.

"What he said on that show. I almost phoned in to tell him he has forgotten that he used to be a player. It was unbelievable."

Agbonlahor then took to Twitter, posting a picture of himself after scoring the only goal in a 1-0 victory at Anfield in 2014. And he has now reignited the fire, maintaining that he is the reason for Liverpool's drop in form.

He told talkSPORT: "Klopp only knew my first name, not my second name! He knew what he was doing. It's that way of saying: 'Oh, I don't know who he is. What's his name?

"And ever since... 16 points behind Arsenal now. It's not been the mentality monster season for Liverpool. I'm just saying, he's been rattled and this season Liverpool haven't been the same as they should be."

When asked if he thinks he personally 'rattled' the Liverpool boss, Agbonlahor replied: "Yeah."

Topics: Liverpool, Jurgen Klopp, Gabriel Agbonlahor, Aston Villa, Premier League, Football

Joe Adams

Joe is a Journalist for SPORTbible with a primary focus on football. He has previously covered a number of other sports including boxing, rugby and F1. Wishes he was born left-footed.

@joeadamsjourno