Jurgen Klopp says it is certain that Steven Gerrard will one day become Liverpool manager as he prepares for the former captain’s emotional Anfield homecoming.

For the first time in his professional career, Gerrard is plotting to defeat the club for which he made 710 appearances. Whatever Saturday’s outcome, Klopp predicted it is a matter of when, not if, Gerrard follows the inevitable path to Liverpool management. 

“It will definitely happen – and good for everybody,” said Klopp. “The only problem is when is the right moment for that. Is it the last job you want to do? Is it the third? Those are questions I can’t answer.”

 Klopp added he did not believe Gerrard had to lift trophies at another club before his Liverpool comeback.

“ I know people say you have to win things, but I’m not sure about that,” he said. “It is more important that you win things when you are here. You don’t have to win things in the past with all this ‘proven winner’ rubbish. Everything he did so far looks good and he’s going in absolutely the right direction. 

“I can imagine a bit how his feelings are, but he probably has no idea how it will feel when he steps into the stadium and out of the dugout.

“Stevie might say ‘no sentiment’ and that’s right, but from the club’s point of view there is sentiment. 

“I had that in a similar way the first time I went back to Mainz and the first time I went with Liverpool back to Dortmund. It’s strange, you pretty much like all the people you meet when you step into the stadium and that’s pretty much not normally the case. 

“I remember when we scored for Dortmund at Mainz. I forgot all about my story at Mainz and celebrated like a crazy devil. He is allowed to do that as well, I just hope he has no reason for it.”

As a stellar name, Gerrard was an attractive appointment for Rangers and Villa at the start of his coaching career. But Klopp said being a lauded player can make it harder to become a top-level coach.

“You have to make all the steps. You have to learn the job,” said Klopp. “I don’t know exactly what Zidane did before he took the Real Madrid job – I don’t know if he did Real ‘B’ or not – but Pep was at Barcelona B for example – maybe not too long – but he learned the job there.

“There might be some people out there who are just geniuses football wise and immediately know how exactly the rest works as well – maybe they are out there – but it is not likely.

“Usually you have to take a step back and start working and that’s what Stevie did with the Liverpool Under 18s and then pretty early came the opportunity with Rangers. Rangers is a big club and it was a big step immediately but he did incredibly well and that is why he is well prepared now.”

Gerrard happy to celebrate any Aston Villa goals at Anfield

By Sam Wallace

Steven Gerrard has indicated he will celebrate any goal his Aston Villa team score at Anfield on Saturday as readily as he has others, saying his reaction will be “authentic” despite the bonds to the club at which he played for 17 years. Gerrard, 41, will return to Anfield this weekend and for the first time it will be as an opponent to Liverpool, with the Villa manager saying his team will attempt to play their own way and not simply try to “survive”. 

Gerrard paid tribute to Jurgen Klopp and the club of his life on Friday but also said there was more pressure on Liverpool to win the game to keep up with the pace of the title race. The Villa manager arrives at Anfield with the team having won three of his four games in charge and another former Liverpool man, Danny Ings, back in contention to play some part in the match. There will be a rapturous reception for Gerrard and the man himself says he is well-prepared to handle that aspect of the day. 

“I am emotional,” Gerrard said, “but for me it is about controlling those emotions in the best way I can to support the team. To represent Aston Villa in the best possible way. Of course, there will be emotion because of where it is and my history with the team and being back in Liverpool but that is the challenge for me to control it and to be as focused as I can. I will respect it in terms of whatever happens. One thing I can assure the Aston Villa fans is I am going there to win and compete. To try to take something from the game and do the best job I can.” 

As for the goal celebrations which are unfailingly exuberant, Gerrard said: “I think first and foremost we have to put ourselves in that position of trying to score goals. Then I will be as normal and as human and as authentic as I have always been. I will deal with it as and when. I don’t think I should give you any headlines until then. Let’s see what happens. Let’s go and try and win the game and score goals. Then you will see a really authentic reaction.” 

Gerrard is not the only member of Villa’s staff with a Liverpool connection and he said they had spent the week reviewing past games and looking at ways other sides have been successful against Klopp’s team. “We are not going to go there to try and survive and hold on,” Gerrard said. “We will try to be the best version of ourselves and when we see that we are a threat as well. That is the challenge. I think there is more pressure on Liverpool. I think at their end of the table I don’t think they can afford to drop any points.” 

On Klopp, Gerrard said that their friendship had necessarily been suspended this week. “I love him as a guy: he’s very open and engaging with myself, and he doesn’t have to be. So I’ve got a lot of respect and admiration for him. But that doesn’t change how I want the next 90 minutes to go because that all gets parked up when the whistle goes. But if you want to know about Jurgen, I could speak all day because he’s a world-class manager and also a top guy.” 

Gerrard confirmed that Villa were in talks with the Zimbabwe Football Association about when Marvelous Nakamba will join up with the national squad for the Africa Cup of Nations next month. Gerrard’s hope is that Villa could retain the player for as long as possible up to the start of the tournament. Discussion about his players was at a minimum for Saturday’s game, and Gerrard was prepared to accept that on this occasion. 

“If people are putting the attention on me, to protect my players I’ll certainly sign up for that,” he said. “But that has not been our focus. We have laid down the challenge in front of us. We have prepared for Liverpool and watched them. We know the strengths. We have tried to prepare the team in a normal way like we have for the previous four games and not get involved or add to any of the noise around the game. I understand it, appreciate it and respect it, but for me it is what happens in the next 90 minutes we need to focus on.”