When Jurgen Klopp says he is on winter break, he will hibernating, just not all the time as he will watch Liverpool U-23, Neil Critchley team to play Shrewsbury in FA Cup fourth-round replay on his laptop.
This is the second time Klopp in such situation after he decided not to compete in Carabao Cup and Liverpool youth team ended up losing 5-0 to Aston Villa in quarter-final, but in return he won Club World Cup for the first time ever for Liverpool.
But Klopp’s decision not to involve in FA Cup drew criticism and was accused of disrespecting the historic competition, which Critchley disagrees.
“Another great quality of the manager is he trusts people to do their job. The best support he gives the players is he gives them an opportunity,” he said.
“I don’t know what more support you could wish for as a young player. I know there has been a lot spoken going into the game, but there has been total clarity around the decision and we all support the decision. We all follow him because he has earned that.”
Critchley admitted that, Shrewsbury have a physical advantages over his players but he believes it could be a great experience for the youngsters.
“When you are playing against men who are fully matured and developed physically they have an advantage,” Critchley said.
“Maybe we can play our way and take that advantage away a little bit. If our boys want to have a career in football then they need to cope with that side of the game and with nights like this.”