"I said 'no' to a lot of clubs" – Ex-Liverpool coach Pep Lijnders highlights why he turned down other job offers while working with Jurgen Klopp
Ex-Liverpool assistant coach Pep Lijnders has opened up on why he rejected other managerial positions during his time working with Jurgen Klopp at the Anfield side.
Lijnders, 41, followed Klopp in departing the Reds earlier this month. He worked as a first-team development coach at the Premier League club from 2014 to 2018 and returned as Klopp's assistant later in 2018.
During a recent interview with The Athletic, Lijnders was asked to shed light on his upcoming move to Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg as their first-team manager. He replied:
"Jurgen had made his mind up and I was quite clear that it was the right time for me to make my own way. Over the past three years, I said 'no' to a lot of clubs. The reason I always stayed was out of loyalty to Jurgen and [Fenway Sports Group] FSG. I already really wanted to go and show what I could do."
Lijnders, who helped Liverpool lift eight trophies in a decade, added:
"Jurgen asked me about it a few times in recent years. The season before I got the question from Jurgen and two times this season, but each time, I said 'no'. The first reason was I really felt that this was a project of 'us'. Jurgen led it and I really felt we should end this project together. Secondly, I've been at Liverpool for nearly 10 years."
Lijnders, who had a brief spell at NEC Nijmegen in 2018, concluded:
"I was ready for a new experience: new people, my own staff, my own players. I gave everything I had to this playing group. I think the team would continue with the same ways if I stayed here. I feel that the team as well needs something new. But I never knew 100 per cent what my response would be if [FSG president] Mike Gordon called me. You say 'no, no, no' but then..."
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