Jurgen Klopp is placing much more emphasis on creating a close culture at Liverpool rather than hammering home tactical instructions, his assistant Pepijn Lijnders has revealed.
The German coach has been in charge of Liverpool and much of the analysis on his work comes back to the pressing tactics that appear to be a hallmark of all his sides.
While the changes on the pitch may be obvious the the viewing public, Lijnders says much of the change is actually happening off the pitch where Klopp has been working hard to build a close-knit culture.
"Jurgen creates a family. We always say: 30 percent tactic, 70 percent team building,' he said in an interview with the Dutch paper De Volksrant.
In a wide-ranging interview, the Liverpool coach claims the role of the head coach has become more important than ever over the last two decades because player loyalty has dwindled.
"Twenty years ago, PSV had six, seven players who played football seven years at the club, with two foreigners," Lijnders said. "Those six players decided what really happened. When coming into contact with a top coach, they won.
"Now there are not six, seven more players who remain six years. In modern football, the coach is therefore the most important person for clarity. He needs to bring all the cultures, all these identities, bring together."
Klopp raised eyebrows in England when he took his entire Liverpool squad on a two-day camp in Barcelona prior to the busy festive period. But the trip was designed as a team-building exercise as much as it was about training.
His work at Liverpool already appears to be working. The club are currently third in the Premier League table, tightly packed in with Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester City, all of whom are chasing leaders Chelsea.
He is also placing a much greater emphasis on promoting youth, with teenager Trent Alexander-Arnold, Sheyi Ojo and Benjamin Woodburn all making an impact in the first-team since his arrival.
In fact, he made Liverpool history in the FA Cup third round tie against Plymouth, naming their youngest ever starting XI with an average age of 21 years and 296 days.
Alexander-Arnold also impressed against Manchester United at the weekend in what was his first ever Premier League start.
"Nice, eh?" said Klopp when asked about the youngster after the game.
"It was clear in the beginning when you see Anthony Martial, one of the quickest players in the Premier League, in the first two situations it was difficult and he needed a little bit of time to adapt. But then he did brilliantly." – Daily Mail