Jurgen Klopp sarcastically hits back at Dietmar Hamann and promises fighting spirit at Ibrox

Liverpool’s form is currently so bad that many are questioning whether they will finish in the top four at the end of the season. 

Critics are lining up to take shots and Dietmar Hamann, who won the Champions League with the club in 2005, has suggested Klopp’s time at Anfield may soon be up.

‘I think at some point we are going to have that discussion about the manager and I’m not sure how far we are from that,’ Hamann told talkSport.

Liverpool’s form is so bad that many are questioning whether they will finish in the top four 

Klopp has a lot to do to turn Liverpool’s fortunes around after their worst start in ten years

When Hamann’s name was introduced during last night’s press conference in Glasgow, Klopp’s demeanour immediately changed and he asked that the broadcaster posing the question do so without making reference to the former Germany international.

Asked if Liverpool needed a spark, Klopp responded: ‘Who said that? Didi Hamann? Oh great. A fantastic source, well respected everywhere.’

Klopp then added: ‘That (being a former Liverpool player) does not give you the right to say what you want, especially when you have no idea. I actually think Didi Hamann does not deserve that you use his phrase to ask a question. Try to ask without using the word spark.’

The final sentence was delivered with a smile and Klopp’s mood was more upbeat than it might have been, given he has lost three key players in the last 24 hours — Luis Diaz (eight weeks), Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joel Matip (both two weeks) — and had to analyse a costly defeat to Arsenal.

Former player Dietmar Hamann has suggested Klopp’s time at Anfield may soon be up

But Liverpool’s performance gave Klopp reason to believe things are not necessarily as bad as they appear and he does not doubt they have the appetite to prove the naysayers wrong, starting this evening in what will be a bear-pit atmosphere at Ibrox.

‘If you sleep on a problem, sometimes you realise life goes on,’ said Klopp. ‘I just stood there at Arsenal and we had lost the game. I knew already that we had three big injuries. 

‘So how can I, in this moment, not feel downbeat? It’s not possible. But then you get information on the injuries step-by-step and it’s two or three weeks rather than my fear of eight weeks for Alexander-Arnold. The other injury, for Matip, is not too long as well and the other is out for as long as we expected.

‘This is a tough situation but it is also a challenge. We always face challenges but we go for it and I am sorry to all our people that after last season we go again and it’s not the case that we are competing for everything.

Klopp was furious with his fellow German’s comments about his position at Liverpool 

‘I cannot promise that we will fly tomorrow but we will fight, definitely, until someone tells us the fight is over. It hasn’t got easier since Sunday because of the injuries but the team I saw in training I liked a lot. So let’s give it a go.’

Klopp insisted that his captain Jordan Henderson, who along with Arsenal defender Gabriel is at the centre of an FA investigation following a skirmish on Sunday, is in the right frame of mind to play against Rangers.

The Scottish club are fired up to put things right after losing at Anfield last week. Rangers midfielder Jon Lundstram said: ‘There’s just something that happens underneath the lights here, I don’t know what it is, I can’t put my finger on it. It gets everyone and gives you a lift. We will show these players respect but, at the same time, show them no respect as well.’