How Klopp's return to football could keep under-pressure Pep Lijnders in a job

The first beneficiary of Jurgen Klopp's return to football could be his former right-hand man at Liverpool.

Klopp's appointment as Global Head of Soccer for Red Bull is surely a positive for Pep Lijnders, who has been under fire in his position as manager of the group's team in Salzburg.

Red Bull Salzburg have failed to win five of their last seven games in all competitions, and have suffered heavy defeats in their last two.

As if losing 4-0 at home to French side Brest in the Champions League league phase wasn't shambolic enough, Lijnders' men followed that with an embarrassing 5-0 drubbing away to Sturm Graz in the Austrian Bundesliga.

Read more: RB Salzburg answers demanded as Pep Lijnders' tenure falls apart

Former Norway forward Jan Aage Fjortoft loves a social media pile-on and has been among Lijnders' many critics since the Graz debacle.

KLOPP'S LOVE BODES WELL FOR LIJNDERS

The fact Lijnders had two spells on Liverpool's coaching staff reflects how highly regarded he was, with Klopp welcoming his Anfield return just six months after the Dutchman walked away for his first abortive crack at management.

It was in January 2018 when Lijnders took the reins at NEC Nijmegen in his native Netherlands but by June that year he was back on Merseyside, having been sacked for failing to gain promotion to the Eredivisie. NEC were knocked out in the play-offs by underdogs Emmen.

Lijnders' second stint in Klopp's backroom team was phenomenally successful as Liverpool won the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, FA Cup, Carabao Cup, FIFA Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup and FA Community Shield between 2019 and 2022.

The pair delivered their final trophy, the Carabao Cup, in February this year, when it was already known they would leave Anfield at the end of the 2023/24 season.

When his departure was announced in January, Klopp said: "The most influential guy in the last years at this club was definitely Pep Lijnders. The job he did is absolutely exceptional. The inspiration he is for me is absolutely exceptional."

In his foreword to Lijnders' 2022 book, Intensity, Klopp dismissed the notion that his right-hand man was giving away too much insider information to Liverpool's opponents.

"It's not about giving away secrets or lifting a veil," he said. "What we do isn't that serious and we shouldn't kid ourselves that it's some sort of special, mystical world."

Klopp added: "I'm so proud of Pep. He's family to me. I love the guy so much."

Lijnders returned the compliment when he left Liverpool, saying in his farewell interview he would be "forever grateful" to Klopp.

"Where would I be without him?" said Pep. "He took me back in the role. Our friendship is big, our commitment is even bigger. Our loyalty is massive. Together strong. The only promise is he will be there anyway in the next years. He means the world."

The Lijnders-Klopp love-in could now stand the Red Bull Salzburg boss in good stead, even if the Austrian club are already regretting not overlooking his failed first attempt at management with NEC.

Jurgen will surely wield his influence if Pep's position comes under further scrutiny.