Jurgen Klopp opens up on Liverpool's virtual training, missing his players and fines for late arrivals on Zoom

Joe Krishnan13 April 2020

Jurgen Klopp has shed some light on how his Liverpool players are coping with lockdown measures, revealing virtual meetings with the squad are helping improve his own morale.

The Reds have been hosting daily fitness sessions via video hangouts to ensure they stay in shape, with the Premier League indefinitely suspended due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Social distancing measures mean clubs have not yet returned to training after a month's absence from the pitch and instead have been forced to conduct and monitor fitness sessions remotely.

Klopp, who is approaching five years in charge at Liverpool, admits it "hurts" to be apart from his players but believes their interactions are proving a useful distraction from the ongoing crisis.

"When we have these training sessions, I could have never imagined I would enjoy it that much," Klopp told the club's official website.

Staying positive: Jurgen Klopp says daily interactions with his Liverpool players are boosting morale  Photo: Liverpool FC via Getty Images
Liverpool FC via Getty Images

"But it’s just the moment when I see the boys again and that changes everything – for a minute, for an hour, for two hours, however long the sessions are.

"The boys are all in good spirits; you feel immediately why you miss them so much, because it’s just an exceptional group.

"You want to be together with them, you want to have them around, you want to be closer to them than you can be.

"These are the closest moments, apart from exchanging messages with them and asking, ‘How are you?’ and stuff like this. So I enjoy these sessions really a lot."

Klopp also revealed that as part of their new regime, players will be fined if they do not tune into the virtual chat on time. "When we start at 10, the chat is open from 9.30 on and pretty much everybody is already in," he added.

"Especially in the first few they were all pretty early in the chat, so it was really chaotic. They join it later now everybody knows how it works technically and stuff like that.

"So they come later, but in time, which is important because we fine that as well. Too late in a Zoom session means you have to pay!

"That’s the best thing of having this situation in 2020 – we have this technical opportunity. Imagine if we would have had that in the ‘80s or something like that, it would have been really crazy.

"Not because of football, because of all the social contact and interaction we can have and use in the moment. That makes a big difference."

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