After the announcement that Jurgen Klopp, along with his backroom staff including his loyal right-hand man Pep Lijnders would be leaving, it left Liverpool supporters heartbroken.
The work the pair did for the club was intrinsic in putting Liverpool back on the footballing map.
At one point, Pep was actually considered as Jurgen’s successor as reported by the Liverpool Echo having learnt off one of the best for over nine years; it seemed inevitable.
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However, this did not occur with the former assistant manager taking up the main position at Red Bull Salzburg in Austria instead. Liverpool, it seems, wanted to head in a different direction despite Lijnders claiming he did talk about taking over.
Now, supporters will be feeling relieved that Lijnders didn’t take the Reds job as the Dutchman continues to struggle following a damaging defeat in the Champions League this Tuesday. Arne Slot's Liverpool, of course, are thriving.
Lijnders managerial nightmare
Salzburg suffered yet another loss in the European competition tonight, losing 4-0 at home to French side and competition debutants Stade Brestois (Brest).
This follows a dreadful performance against Sparta Praha in week one, meaning Lijnders' men haven’t scored yet in the competition and have conceded seven times in two games.
Lijnders also employed two former Reds youngsters in the form of Stefan Bajcetic on loan and Bobby Clark on a permanent deal, but they have not managed to make an impact yet either.
In terms of league form, they sit 3rd in the Austrian Bundesliga having had a fairly good start winning four of their first six league games.
However, Pep will have high expectations for his squad and the team seem to drastically underperform on the big European stages.
For Reds supporters, they will be feeling mixed emotions.
Of course, they don’t like seeing a former great struggling to make it work in his first managerial role, but also there will be a sense of relief that he was not appointed to the helm at Liverpool.
Lijnders clearly has work to do. It is still incredibly early in the season to judge him, but things will need to change fast if he doesn’t want to face the sack.