Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp has defended his support of the Premier League winter break and insists it should stay.

Klopp believes the winter break is useful in managing players' workload as they continue to chase silverware on three fronts.

He said, "It is very important we keep this winter break. This time we had a few things to discuss about and to decide, I didn't like it but I had to.

"Then I went on holiday. People can say and think what they like about it, I cannot change and I'm not interested really. When I heard, 'This team has 17 days or 12 days [rest]' - they don't have that.

"We trained since Monday, it was exactly a week they had and in that week the boys trained, just not here.

"It is not a break like you would think a break is, it is just a different time that which we think we really need to recharge the batteries for the most decisive period in the season."