Under-pressure Ancelotti would take Klopp's advice

Carlo Ancelotti has no doubt Napoli's hierarchy and players are behind him, but that does not mean he would turn down Jurgen Klopp's advice.

Published : Nov 27, 2019 04:16 IST

Carlo Ancelotti and Jurgen Klopp
Carlo Ancelotti and Jurgen Klopp
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Carlo Ancelotti and Jurgen Klopp

Jurgen Klopp is one of the few coaches Napoli boss Carlo Ancelotti would happily take advice from if it was offered.

Ancelotti has endured a difficult start to his second season in Naples, with the Partenopei – who have finished second in three of the past four campaigns – sitting seventh in Serie A.

Napoli's squad refused to go on a training retreat organised by club president Aurelio De Laurentiis earlier in November, while a six-game winless run in all competitions has piled the pressure on former Bayern Munich coach Ancelotti.

But Ancelotti's men can guarantee their progression to the last 16 of the Champions League with a win over Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday.

In a pre-match news conference, Reds manager Klopp insisted he did not need to give Ancelotti any advice on how to handle the situation at Napoli, though the Italian says he would be happy to receive any words of wisdom.

 

"I can say that he is one of the few people I would accept advice from, absolutely," Ancelotti, who guided Napoli to a 2-0 win over Liverpool in their Group E opener, told his own news conference.

"It's not something I've ever done. The club has expressed its faith in me, I think. The players have faith as well.

"If you don't have faith and trust and confidence from the players and club, you might think about resigning. But I've never thought about that.

"If the club doesn't trust me, then I might think about it. But that's never happened to me in 30 odd years and it's not happening now. It's a fleeting moment, there are lots of issues you will emerge from.

"You have to have unity and intent and, hopefully, that will get us out of the situation."

Liverpool's defeat in Naples is its only loss in all competitions since the Community Shield in August, and Ancelotti is expecting his team – which will be shorn of key man Lorenzo Insigne due to injury – to cause the Reds problems again.

 

Uphill task

"Klopp knows as well, he knows it won't be easy," Ancelotti said. "It's important Klopp knows we can cause his Liverpool team a lot of problems. That's what we did in the first game of this group and what we did last year and in friendly games as well.

"It doesn't happen every day that you find yourself playing at Anfield and we want to make the most of the opportunity to play here.

"Forget the fears and apprehension, we need to be brave and courageous and show our character and show we want to do things.

"The team is holding something back, it's not relaxed enough and realising its full potential. If you don't get results, then you aren't relaxed enough. It's like a dog chasing its own tail. But a good result tomorrow could release us from this tension."

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