Jurgen Klopp backs Thomas Tuchel to succeed at Chelsea

| 27 January 2021

Thomas Tuchel is the new man in charge at Stamford Bridge.

Jurgen Klopp expects Chelsea to thrive under Thomas Tuchel but described the decision to sack Frank Lampard as “really harsh”.

Tuchel, the man who replaced Klopp as boss at both Mainz and Borussia Dortmund, was on Tuesday named as the new Chelsea manager following Roman Abramovich’s decision to show Lampard the door on Monday morning.

Asked about the German’s arrival in the Premier League, Klopp’s first response was to talk about the man he follows.

Borussia Dortmund v Liverpool – UEFA Europa League – Quarter Final – First Leg – Signal Iduna Park — Thomas Tuchel, left, followed Klopp at both Mainz and Dortmund (Adam Davy/PA)

“Frank Lampard lost his job and I have to say that is a really tough one,” he said.

“I think that Chelsea did an incredible job in the transfer market this summer and brought in good players but things like this take time.

“It is really harsh to make that decision that early, but obviously Mr Abramovich gives you some chances, some money and some players, but he is not the most patient person in the world. I feel for Frank, he is a young talented manager and I wish him the best. It is a hard one if it happens in your club.

“For Thomas it is great. Unfortunately he is a really good manager and I have known him long and respect him a lot. This Chelsea squad is a present and I am pretty sure Thomas sees it like that and they will be good.”

Chelsea v Liverpool – Premier League – Stamford Bridge — Jurgen Klopp described Frank Lampard’s sacking as ‘really harsh’ (Nick Potts/PA)

Klopp said he had no “public advice” to offer Tuchel, joking that he also does not have an up-to-date phone number for a coach whose last job was in Ligue 1 with Paris St Germain.

But he warned that the 47-year-old will need to deliver quickly to stay long at Stamford Bridge.

“I was lucky with my clubs,” he said. “At Mainz everyone wanted me to succeed. At Dortmund exactly the same and at Liverpool exactly the same. The owners and presidents and sporting directors thought I was doing the right stuff and knew it takes time.

“At Chelsea, you are successful or you are out, that is obviously the mantra. I said plenty of times, I was lucky with the clubs I had.

“For Frank everything will be fine. The football people, if they saw some of the stuff Chelsea played last year, they saw there is a clear plan. He is a young manager and did a lot of really good stuff. He will be back soon if he wants that.”