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Jurgen Klopp endorsed Liverpool successor Arne Slot well before the Dutchman's present difficulties at Anfield.
The Reds manager now confronts mounting pressure after Sunday's devastating 3-0 defeat at Manchester City, representing his seventh loss in the team's last 10 fixtures.
The result has left Liverpool stranded in eighth position in the Premier League, with Slot putting aside any talk of a title bid for the time being. The international interval provides an opportunity to reset before the season's most demanding period, something Klopp understands intimately. However, despite the growing pressure enveloping Anfield, fans can find reassurance knowing Klopp personally championed Slot's appointment.
The German even disclosed he'd shared correspondence with the former Feyenoord manager prior to his Merseyside arrival.
"Arne, yeah. Really good coach," he told ESPN last year. "I was really happy when I heard that Liverpool was going for Arne Slot. I wasn't involved in anything, it should not be like that, and I'm not this kind of guy in the background, still having some strings and stuff. Like I don't want that. The club is too big, too good. [The] People are too good.
"A lot of things changed since we left. But the only concern for me was, will they get a good coach? Liverpool was early and Liverpool got a top, top, top solution in Arne Slot."
Slot's inaugural campaign at Anfield proved to be a triumphant affair as Liverpool cruised towards the Premier League crown with remarkable ease. The Reds were even within touching distance of achieving a historic treble, requiring just a handful of results to fall in their favor.
When pressed about any dialogue he'd maintained with his replacement, Klopp disclosed he'd exchanged messages with Slot following the confirmation of his appointment, although he remained tight-lipped regarding the content of their correspondence.
"We spoke one or two times [at the start]. I think we texted a few more times. But there is nothing I can tell him what he couldn't know himself," he added. "Right now, from my side, just to give positive feedback in the beginning, because we are all human beings and he worked his socks off.
"I know that because the tour is super intense in a year when you have Euros and Copa, you don't have the team together, but they come, you have one week until the first matchday and stuff like that.
"So I think he had similar situation, but exactly the same situation? Definitely not.
"When I saw the games, that's why I watched it, not to think, oh, how does it look? The work he did was obvious, the ideas obvious. And that's the best you can say about the coach."
Fast forward to now, and Liverpool's slump in form has left many baffled. A record-breaking summer of expenditure had set the Reds up as clear favorites to secure back-to-back Premier League titles, yet a lack of synergy in certain areas has hampered their chances.
Slot now has a fortnight to prepare for their next test at Nottingham Forest following the international break. He can only hope that the fans retain the same belief Klopp once showed in his capacity to get things back on track.
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