Alan Shearer blasts Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp's handling of Christian Benteke

Premier League legend Alan Shearer does not think Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is a fan of his own striker Christian Benteke. The 25-year-old Belgian has been on the fringes of the first-team since the German was appointed as the manager in 2015, and Shearer does no think he is part of Klopp's long-term plan for the club.

Klopp delivered a public dressing down of Benteke – who has been linked with a move away from the club – during Liverpool's 3-2 loss to Southampton at St Mary's on Sunday (20 March). Shearer subsequently criticised the move to confront the centre-forward on the pitch, instead of in the dressing room.

"I understand that he's not his player, I don't think he fancies him. He didn't sign him," Shearer told the BBC. "I understand all of that but I wouldn't take too kindly If I was a player and he came on to the pitch in front of 32,000 and let his feelings be known."

Although Shearer has no qualms with Klopp criticising his player, he insisted there is a time and a place to do it. "No problem if he wants to give him a telling off, or whatever it is, but do it in the dressing room, in the four walls in front of the rest of the players, not in front of all the fans," he said of the Liverpool manager's behaviour.

Shearer's assessment of the situation has been echoed by former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy, who is a fan of Klopp, but disagreed with how he dealt with the situation. "I couldn't agree more. If you're going to give someone a telling off then do it inside," the ex-Liverpool star reflected.

"Sometimes he's great, Jurgen Klopp, he's been a breath of fresh air but sometimes he's overly animated on the touchline and it doesn't always go down well with everyone. It tells me in the first half in games they're playing with a really high intensity that the players can't maintain over the 90 minutes.

"It's a very difficult way to play football for a full 90 minutes and maybe he needs a full pre-season. He'll bring in a couple of players he knows can play his system with but at the moment they are very Jekyll and Hyde."