Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has welcomed Sir Alex Ferguson's endorsement but joked he is in no position to return the compliment, reports Sky Sports.
Ferguson admitted a year ago he was concerned by Klopp's arrival at Liverpool, the club he famously succeeded in knocking "off their perch" during his 26 years at Manchester United.
Asked for his reaction to such praise Klopp said: "Is it allowed for me to say I like Alex Ferguson?
"I knew him before and he's a really nice person. He did what he had to do at Manchester and that automatically means it's not good for Liverpool.
"When he has to say something positive about Liverpool, it's better than if he would say something negative so it's all good. But it doesn't mean a lot. It doesn't disturb us or help us."
Ferguson claims Klopp has restored the club's "identity" and "enthusiasm", and the German said: "Maybe we had to change the minds of fans about the past, but while I don't know too much about enthusiasm I feel there is a positive atmosphere in and around Melwood at moment.
"That's good. It's not cool when you always think about football that you're 20 per cent more upset, you should be feeling better. That's our job to do. Until now it's worked somehow. It's really, really intense even when football isn't the most important thing."