Jurgen Klopp has vowed that each member of Liverpool’s squad will receive a Premier League winner’s medal — even if it means giving his own away.
The manager is perplexed by the system that means a player is only guaranteed a medal once he has made five appearances.
‘I don’t know who came up with that,’ said Klopp, whose side face Aston Villa tomorrow. ‘Even if you have played one game you should have a medal.
‘If the people don’t understand how important a squad is to win a championship then I cannot help them to be honest.
‘If you are the second goalie and have had less games, you should get a medal. You train five million times over a year and if you don’t train at the highest level you have no chance to win a championship. ‘Somebody decided you have to have five games for a medal?’
Each title-winning squad is given 40 medals, with the majority going to players who meet the criteria, plus the management team and coaching staff, with the remainder distributed however the club sees fit.
Youngsters Neco Williams, Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott have all made two appearances and Klopp is determined to see that they — along with others such as reserve goalkeepers Andy Lonergan and Caoimhin Kelleher — are rewarded.
‘These boys will get a medal — 100 per cent,’ he said. ‘I could produce it by myself. They can have my medal, but it’s not really the rule.
‘I would rather (the Premier League) think about the rules again and make it happen.’
It raised the question of whether Klopp would be willing to give Williams, Jones and Elliott cameos during Liverpool’s final six matches but he was incredulous at the idea that he would start rotating, just because the title has been sewn up.
‘We have to win football games,’ said Klopp. ‘Those kids are super and they have a future but we don’t give games as a Christmas present, like sweets.
‘It is about who fits best in the formation. No Premier League games are just for fun.
‘But they deserve a medal and they will get a medal — if not from the Premier League then from me.’