Gary Neville says 'unbelievable' Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is as good as Pep Guardiola

Gary Neville believes under-fire Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is at least as good as his Manchester City counterpart Pep Guardiola, if not better.

Speaking to Liverpool Echo, as cited by Anfield Watch's Twitter account, Neville believes Klopp has enough credit in the bank to stay on as Liverpool boss even if the Reds' alarming run of form continues well into the new year.

"Jurgen Klopp is not the type to shirk it, he is a massive character. He has put in an unbelievable managerial performance, equal to or better than Pep Guardiola in this last seven years, with what he has done at Liverpool.

"How much is it Chelsea have spent now, £300 million? If Jurgen Klopp can get that level of money from new owners and spends it as wisely as he has done for the last eight years, he will be empowered next season to go and transform that team."

While Neville admitted Liverpool aren't anywhere near as good as they were in previous seasons, he believes Klopp is still the right man to oversee a rebuild.

"I don't think of him seeing this as the end, I think he will see it as a new beginning. Because of the credit he has built up, you're not going to stick the boot in.

"You are going to be critical of them as they are defending really poorly, they are too easy to play against and they are poor in midfield. Salah is not is not what he was in previous seasons, Mane has gone and the others are a little rugged and raw around the edges. There are things you could argue are going against Klopp, there is no doubt."

ANFIELD WATCH VERDICT

Jurgen Klopp is enduring his worst spell at Liverpool since taking over the reins from Brendan Rodgers in 2015, but it goes without saying that he's still the right man to take the club forward. It's hard to believe this is the same squad that came so close to winning the quadruple last season, but several factors have gone against Liverpool since the commencement of the 2022-23 campaign.

This isn't the first time Klopp has experienced a crisis at Liverpool. Despite losing Virgil van Dijk, Joel Matip and Joe Gomez to injuries for the lion's share of the 2020-21 campaign, Klopp managed to steer Liverpool to a third-place finish that season, which is enough proof that he always finds answers when the Reds are in a desperate situation.

He shouldn't be completely devoid of criticism, but as Gary Neville rightly pointed out, he's got enough credit left in the bank after everything he's achieved at the club, so his long-term future shouldn't come under scrutiny at this point in time.