Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp’s focus is on Brighton not Real Madrid

JURGEN KLOPP has demanded complete focus on Brighton and Hove Albion from his players and insists that he has not been tempted to break his own rule.

Liverpool wrap up their Premier League campaign this afternoon, needing just a point from the visit of Chris Hughton’s team to ensure Champions League football for next season.

But with this year’s final against Real Madrid the prime topic of conversation on Merseyside, Klopp has been determined not to allow today’s apparently straightforward task to be given anything but 100% attention.

And that includes banning himself from taking even a sneaky peak at anything to do with Cristiano Ronaldo and his Real Madrid team-mates.

“I have not a lot of skills, but I am used to being fully concentrated on the next step,” he declares.

“Otherwise, I learned you fall on your face and I don’t do that very often.

“We have to make a few plans for Kiev, but I have no problem concentrating on Brighton.

“On Thursday at our awards night, a lot of people wished me luck for the 26th.

“Only two or three people said: ‘Good luck on Sunday but, on that day, we have to deliver again. All of us.

“It is not a farewell ahead of the final. It’s proper competition against a strong group of players and having no pressure can be a positive for Brighton.”

Once today’s business is completed, Klopp will take his players to Spain for much of next week in an effort to make the most of the 13 days between matches.

“At Borussia Dortmund, for the final against Bayern Munich, we had only one week to prepare,” he recalls.

“The extra time is a massive difference and good for us. Rest is a great thing at this stage.

“The whole season has been quite a joyride, but very intense as well. We are still in that. To me, it feels like we are still in the middle of the season.

“A lot of teams could go on holiday on Monday. We are in a completely different mood.

“But, if you want to be successful, you have to play the last game of the season and we will do that in the Champions League and in the Premier League.

“There will be, hopefully, moments next week when the boys can relax. That is what they deserve and what they need. We will do training, but it’s not a camp when we train twice or three times a day.

“It’s to recharge the batteries. Then, when we come home, we have another week to prepare for the game.

“We have time together there, so we will prepare the game there as well. We can analyse stuff, and there are a lot of things we can do then to get used to the situation we are in.”