Jurgen Klopp kept his message to his Liverpool players simple ahead of their Champions League opener at Napoli, urging the Reds to "play better" after previous struggles in Naples.
Wednesday will mark the third time Napoli and Liverpool have met in the Champions League group stage in the past five seasons, with the Italian side winning home games against the Reds in both 2018-19 (1-0) and 2019-20 (2-0).
Klopp also lost 2-1 at Napoli while Borussia Dortmund coach, and he knows his players must improve on these previous showings.
"I'm a late bloomer," he said. "I always need a little bit longer to achieve my stuff, and that means sometimes I have to try two times, sometimes three times, sometimes four times – and Napoli [could be] four times, obviously.
"What do we have to do? Play better than in the previous three games – that would be very helpful, because we didn't play particularly well when we came here. One reason is because Napoli are pretty strong."
Despite Liverpool's poor record at Napoli, the Reds have won each of their last three away games against Italian sides in European competition, although the Partenopei have five victories in six Champions League home games against Premier League opposition.
Luciano Spalletti will be in the opposite dugout to Klopp this time around, and the German heaped praise on the Napoli coach and his squad.
"He is a real great of the game, worked all over the world, very successful, you can always see his stamp on the team," Klopp added.
"It's always clear who is the coach, I respect that a lot. Looking forward to seeing him tomorrow.
"[The Napoli players] are not all young, but they're all good... I'm not 100 per cent sure, but I think not too long ago there was a bit of a nervous situation in Napoli around when players left for different reasons; obviously it has all settled again.
"I'm really happy for the people here. But one player who always stayed is [Piotr] Zielinski, and around him you could build again another team – it's a really, really interesting project, I have to say.
"Good football, intense style, different approaches, so really good. Spalletti is a good coach, so nobody should be surprised, and he's obviously pretty relaxed about maybe some nervous things around. So, it's probably a really good fit – that's how it looks."
Arthur Melo, on loan at Liverpool from Juventus, will be familiar with Napoli after his exploits in Serie A and could make his debut against Spalletti's side, but Klopp warns the midfielder will need time to settle.
"Arthur needs now just football – and training, especially – that's how it is. He wasn't in team training for a while at Juve, so he needs proper team training – and that's what we are doing with him," Klopp explained.
"Can he play minutes? Yes. Should he play full game? No, because he needs to get used to the intensity in each competition. It's not like in the Champions League you have to work less than in the Premier League.
"Not at all, especially not here. He is doing well, he is really giving his absolute all in training. We have to be careful with him as well, and then we will see whether we can use him."
Nick Montgomery wants Hibernian ‘up there challenging’ ahead of Celtic test
Inside Easter Road reminders are everywhere, including on the mouse mats, of what is expected at Hibernian.
Doing the small things, humility without an ego, and reinforcing a demanding but healthy culture sit alongside the desire to consistently qualify for Europe and close the gap on Celtic and Rangers.
On Wednesday, boss Nick Montgomery – three months into his reign – gets the chance to test their progress again.
Under chief executive Ben Kensell, Hibs’ internal mantra is to be the club which dares to do things differently. It is up to Montgomery to ensure it happens on the pitch ahead of the trip to Celtic.
“It’s very hard but you only have to look at Leicester in the Premier League, no-one really expected them to do that (winning in 2016),” the former Sheffield United midfielder tells the PA news agency.
“Every club in every league will see that as an inspirational story. Is it sustainable? No, it’s hard to be sustainable because look at where Leicester are now but that’s a one-off example.
“You can only try to achieve the best positions every season. It’s not easy to compete against the two giants of the division, but that’s something every team aspires to do.
“I’m not saying we can compete on any level with them financially, budget-wise that’s never going to happen.
“What we can do is make sure we have a team competitive enough to make sure we’re competing in every game.”
The long-term plans stem from Kensell, who has laid important foundations at Easter Road and was key in helping bring Montgomery to Edinburgh from Central Coast Mariners in September after Lee Johnson’s departure.
Former Reading manager Brian McDermott also joined as director of football in May.
Kensell was a driving force behind commercial and on pitch success at Norwich, as chief operating officer, before leaving in 2021. He helped oversee two promotions to the Premier League and guided them through the pandemic as part of the club’s executive committee.
Another of the 10 points at Easter Road which underline the demand on staff is “enjoy what you do, work hard, play hard and smile”. It is something which resonates with Montgomery and translates into what he is doing on the pitch.
“In the time I’ve been here we’ve had a lot of progress in terms of an identity on the pitch, off it we want people to enjoy it but also know it’s going to be hard work,” he says, from his office at the snow-covered training ground in Tranent.
“The first thing is getting to know people, what their strengths and weaknesses are and creating a team environment but one where everyone demands off each other.
“The boys are a tight-knit group, we have brought in a couple of speakers and sports psychologists to talk to them about bonding and how you can become stronger.
“That’s my job, to make sure that happens, to create an environment where everyone feels they can be themselves.”
Montgomery won Central Coast Mariners’ first A-League title in 10 years last season and has now been joined by wife Josie and daughters Eva, Chloe and Leah, who watched their first game, Sunday’s 2-0 victory over Aberdeen, after flying from Australia.
A third straight win left Hibs two points behind third-placed Hearts and Montgomery believes it is just the beginning.
“Everybody knows there are two massive teams in the league but you want to be up there challenging,” he said.
“We want to become a club with an identity, a club that develops players, one which can sell players to the biggest leagues in the world and reinvest back into the academy and the foundations.
“We want to keep growing the fanbase and the community and give everyone a club to be proud of.”
Ex England midfielder Jill Scott added to National Football Museum Hall of Fame
Retired England and Manchester City midfielder Jill Scott has become the latest Lioness to be inducted into the National Football Museum’s Hall of Fame.
Scott, 36, hung up her boots last August after making 161 appearances and scoring 27 goals for England, and was part of the Lionesses’ European Championships triumph in 2022.
At club level, she was a Women’s Super League champion with Manchester City in 2016, also winning three FA Cups.
Scott said: “It’s such a massive honour. I was here on opening day with Rachel Brown-Finnis at the museum, so to see how much the museum has grown, and then to get inducted into the Hall of Fame and see how far the women’s game has grown, I feel so fortunate that I’ve had the chance to live this journey in women’s football.
“When I look at some of the names that are in there – Rachel Yankey, Kelly Smith, Karen Carney – they are all fantastic football players, but also fantastic people, so to have my name alongside them is something very special. It’s something I can show the family and hopefully they will be very proud.”
Scott has donated her England cap from an international friendly against the Czech Republic on the November 12 2019 to the museum, where it is now on display.
Off the pitch, Scott, who last month was also inducted into the Women’s Super League Hall of Fame, is known for her love of coffee and runs her own coffee shop, Boxx2Boxx Coffee, in Manchester.
She is also the founder of the Jill Scott Academy, a programme designed to provide opportunities and mentorship for young aspiring footballers, and has been involved in coaching City’s academy players.
Tim Desmond, CEO of the National Football Museum, added: “Jill Scott’s induction into the National Football Museum Hall of Fame is a momentous occasion.
“Her career achievements, her profound impression on women’s football, and her remarkable influence on a whole generation of young women make her an exceptional inductee.
“We’ve seen here first-hand at the museum the impact the Lionesses 2022 European victory has had, and Jill was as big a part of that as anyone.
“We had an incredible response from visitors to the Crossing The Line: The Story of Women’s Football exhibition, which encapsuled the spirit and ongoing impact of their 2022 Euro win.
“Jill Scott is more than a footballer; she’s a shining example to young girls on just what can be achieved in football. We are extremely proud to welcome her to our Hall of Fame and celebrate her legacy.”
Marcus Rashford: The stats behind the Manchester United forward’s struggles
Marcus Rashford goes into Manchester United’s game against Chelsea on Wednesday struggling for form this season.
Here, the PA news agency looks at how the forward has crashed back to earth after last term’s 30-goal exploits.
Season of struggleRashford was replaced in the second half after a frustrating outing against Newcastle, with manager Erik ten Hag saying afterwards: “He works hard and he is investing a lot. He will get back, he will recover and he’s got all our support.”
The contrast in the England international’s form compared to last season, though, is obvious.
In 24 appearances for club and country, Rashford has scored three goals – against Arsenal and Everton in the Premier League and for England against Italy.
He has yet to score at Old Trafford this season but does have three assists there, against Nottingham Forest in the league and Bayern Munich and Galatasaray in the Champions League.
Throw in a Champions League red card against Copenhagen – only the second of Rashford’s senior career – and it is all a far cry from this time last year when he was in the form of his life.
Off the pitch, Rashford was criticised by his manager for going out straight after the derby defeat to Manchester City for a pre-arranged birthday party, and had to tell a United fan channel to “stop spreading malicious rumours” over his future at the club in the following days. He was also involved in a car crash after September’s win over Burnley from which he escaped unhurt.
Clear contrastThe same number of appearances last season, 24, took Rashford up to the end of England’s World Cup campaign against France on December 10.
In those games he had scored 11 goals, again adding three assists. That included doubles against Arsenal in the league, Omonia Nicosia in the Europa League and Wales in Qatar – with four league goals, three in Europe, one in the Carabao Cup and three for England.
He went on to record a career-best 30 United goals in all competitions, which included scoring in the League Cup final as his side beat Newcastle to lift the trophy.
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