New NEC Nijmegen coach Pepijn Ljinders admits their offer was too good to refuse this week.

Ljinders took Liverpool unawares as he chose to quit his assistant coaching role yesterday to take charge of NEC.

He told De Telegraaf: "I could not ignore this opportunity. The pressure to become a champion with this club motivates me enormously.

"The owner of Liverpool and Jürgen Klopp said after a good conversation that they did not want to take this job away from me."

Ljinders had been with Liverpool since 2014.

"I move to another club in the middle of the season. People will say that it is strange, but a good timing to leave a club like Liverpool is never there. After having worked abroad for more than ten years, I am also happy to live in my hometown Broekhuizen again."