Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has taken aim at former Holland international Wim Kieft.

Klopp took issue with a column written by Kieft where he questioned the influence and coaching ability of assistant manager Pep Lijnders.

"When I read that, I thought, What is he talking about? I really didn't think it was okay. Normally I don't care what is written about us, but I wanted to talk about this anyway so that we can explain it," said Klopp to Voetbal International.

“In that column it was written that it was not us, but Klopp. It was very complimentary to me, as if it was all my success. But no, it isn't. Then you don't understand how we work.

“The decisions I make are based on all the information I get from them. That's one thing. But on top of that, Pep is also very influential because he is so enthusiastic about the way we play. We encourage each other in that."

On Lijnders' future as a manager, Klopp also said: "But in the Netherlands, some people still say: 'Yes, but it didn't work out well in Nijmegen'. I don't understand that attitude. He has been successful everywhere else. He went to Porto early and made an impression there, before he came to Liverpool.

"It's not often you get coaches from Porto. It was like: he's the best of the class, let's bring him in. And after a short period of time he was already promoted within Liverpool."