Pep Lijnders shares his 'clear' reaction to Jurgen Klopp shock

Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders admits 'it's not easy' leaving Liverpool in 2024. The Dutchman has stated his reason why.

Jurgen Klopp will leave Liverpool in 2024. He announced it last week, to the shock of just about everyone in football. The Reds will now search for a new manager in a near-impossible task.

But he's far from the only one departing. Sporting director Jorg Schmadtke will leave with the end of his one-year contract, while the senior coaching staff will also step away from Liverpool.

That means Pep Lijnders is calling time on a 10-year association with Liverpool. Lijnders first arrived back in 2014 and assisted Brendan Rodgers before taking over a similar role with Klopp.

A brief attempt at managing on his own saw him leave in 2017 but a spell in charge of NEC in 2018 didn't pan out. Lijnders then returned to Liverpool later that year and has played an integral role at the club ever since.

Now, though, he's finally leaving for good and Lijnders admits that 'not easy'. It's time for him to go all-in on management, though.

“I owe this club everything," said Lijnders, per the Liverpool Echo. "They don’t owe me anything, to be honest. It’s 10 years full of dedication.

"I always said I will finish with Jurgen; the moment I will not assist anyone else, that’s the moment I will go and I will manage.

“That was always the case. So when we spoke, it was clear for me. Okay, then I go and manage, and we end this project together [that] we started. But yeah, it’s not easy."

Lijnders' reputation is high enough that he knows full well he'd have a job under any new manager. Instead, he's betting on himself an attempting to make it as the main man at a club.

It's easy to respect that and everyone at Liverpool will certainly wish him the best - even if they'd rather have him around. And who knows? Maybe this isn't for good. If Lijnders can shine as a manager in his own right, you can guarantee a link to the Anfield hotseat down the line.