Jurgen Klopp's Red Bull task laid bare as Salzburg star admits: 'We're ****'

For Liverpool's ex-assistant coach Pep Lijnders, loanee Stefan Bajcetic and ex-player Bobby Clark, football is a bit tricky at the moment.

They're all currently based at Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg, as part of a youthful team which promised contention for the league and statement performances in the Champions League.

As such, the criticism of such an underperforming team has been scathing, from fans and pundits around the world.

From a positive performance in Europe in the Champions League last week against Feyenoord, the team suddenly came crashing back down to reality in a bitterly disappointing loss this past weekend, in a game that laid bare the holes in the team.

READ MORE: Liverpool ready to sell 'unbelievable' midfielder

The season so far

When Lijnders took on the role of managing Salzburg, it was well understood that it would be the first time he'd managed a football team on his own, having long worked as Jurgen Klopp's assistant at Liverpool.

And with the arrivals of Clark and Bajcetic, many Liverpool fans had tipped the Austrian giants to go well this season, despite the young and somewhat naive nature of their team, the squad was littered with talent, just waiting for its potential to be unearthed.

After an unbeaten start of eight matches across all competitions, Salzburg looked like a team that could do things this season, that was heading in the right direction, only for that dream to quickly come crashing down.

A loss to Rapid in the Austrian Bundesliga was followed up by a crushing defeat against title rivals Sparta Praha and after a brief upturn in form, they then were demolished 4-0 by Brest in the Champions League, followed by a 5-0 loss to last season's league winners Sturm Graz.

As of today, they sit 11 points off the top of the league and look set to be knocked out of the group phase of the Champions League as their upcoming opponents are significantly more challenging than their early run which went so badly.

The fans have been disapproving of decisions Lijnders has made surrounding the goalkeeper and as results continue to be marked by inconsistent performances, the pressure on his side isn't set to alleviate any time soon.

READ MORE: The MASSIVE cost of Liverpool transfer DOOMSDAY revealed

Players begin to lose faith - 'We're sh*t!'

Following Wednesday's important performance against Feyenoord in the Champions League, the mood was somewhat positive, with the team showing signs of their potential and something of a blueprint to work with going forward.

However, in losing 2-0 to BW Linz, on Sunday, all the negativity came back as the tide began to take a turn for the worse.

Striker Mads Bistrup spoke to Salzburg24 and said, quite abruptly: "That was just sh*t.

"Offensively, defensively - everything was not good enough and the intensity was lacking. You can't play such a good game on Wednesday and then deliver such a performance.

"We talked about it in the dressing room, that the performance this season has been too inconsistent. Now we have ten days to get it under control together and come up with a plan."

Klopp taking over

While Bajectic can be recalled from his loan at any point, should the club feel that the environment is not assisting his growth as a footballer, Lijnders and Clark are set to remain at Salzburg.

Clark is still a young player with plenty to offer and is not the only player finding this season to be testing, but Lijnders may find his job on the line should things not improve.

Jurgen Klopp announced earlier this season that he is set to become Red Bull's Global Head of Football. Questions are already being asked over whether the German will be brave enough to sack his former charge when he takes over.

Fans on Merseyside and around the world will undoubtedly wish the former Reds well in the endeavour to turn things around, but at the moment the situation is critical.

READ MORE: 'I was Liverpool's INCREDIBLE Champions League hero and now I'm bottom of League Two'