Liverpool will not be heading down the same route as Manchester United after tying Jurgen Klopp to a new contract, says Robbie Fowler, with the Reds moving to ensure that there will be a smooth transition once the day comes to a find a new manager.
A highly-rated German tactician has agreed fresh terms at Anfield through to 2024.
He has already delivered a Champions League triumph on Merseyside, while a first league title in 30 years could soon be secured.
Success in the present is being embraced, but there is also an awareness that building work for the future must start now.
Klopp is being charged with the task of overseeing that process, allowing Liverpool to avoid a repeat of the struggles endured by arch-rivals United when Sir Alex Ferguson headed into retirement back in 2013.
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Reds legend Fowler has told The Mirror of a crucial deal done at Anfield: “It is so huge that he’s signed a new contract with Liverpool.
“I think everyone assumed he would do seven years and then take a break in 2022. So to get him for another two years after that is massive.
“It’s big for many reasons.
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“For a start, what a season to get such a lift in. It’s like the club signing one of the best players in the world – because he’s right up there at the very top.
“He is also a competitor. He inherited a pretty poor team at Anfield – there are only a handful of them left.
“But he got to two finals in his first season, in the top four in the second, then a Champions League final. Every year they get better and there’s no sign of it stopping. That’s a real competitor. The two extra years, though, are a massive bonus for the club because it offers continuity. This team is so exciting, there’s a reason they’re huge favourites for the title.
“Yet there will come a time when it needs to be refreshed and rebuilt a little. They’re all at peak age – or heading towards their peak – but, in two or three years’ time, some will move on.
“To have Klopp overseeing that will mean there’s no chance of handing over like Sir Alex Ferguson did – an ageing team that needed some surgery.
“Klopp hasn’t signed on for longer for that reason though. He’s done it because he has the balls to back himself. He knows he has a fabulous team, that they can get better and he wants to take them further.
“You can tell he loves his job. He’ll want to win the title this season and I know for sure that will be the target, even ahead of the Champions League.
“But he’ll want that to be the start, he’ll want more.
“Klopp has won without ever being at the biggest club in his league or spending massive amounts of money. Now he’s at a club who back him, who will buy into him. He will believe it’s just the start.”
Liverpool are currently 10 points clear at the top of the Premier League table and preparing to open their Club World Cup campaign, while also waiting on the draw for the last 16 of the Champions League.