Danny Murphy blames Liverpool's injury woes on manager Jurgen Klopp

Danny Murphy thinks Liverpool's recent spate of hamstring injuries is the result of Jurgen Klopp's coaching methods. The Reds have suffered a string of muscle injuries since the German replaced Brendan Rodgers as manager, and Murphy believes Klopp must accept some of the blame.

Murphy, 38, said the Anfield club cannot ignore their current problems. However, he confessed there are other mitigating factors to consider.

"The amount of hamstring injuries Liverpool's players have suffered under Klopp is a concern, because there are too many to push under the carpet," he told the BBC. "They will be linked with what the players are doing in training, usually to do with extra sprint work, but I suspect that part of the problem is down to players trying to impress the new manager – and there is a bit of bad luck involved too.

"I am sure Klopp and his staff will be aware of what is happening and trying to find out why, but there is no way he is going to just change everything overnight to try to solve the problem."

Klopp was appointed as the new Liverpool boss in October 2015 and while their fortunes have fluctuated in the intervening months, Murphy thinks there have been some noticeable improvements.

"If his feeling when he took over was that the squad was not fit enough to play the way he wanted to, then he will have upped the workload," the former Liverpool midfielder said. "Whatever he has done, it has worked – their application and effort against Arsenal was impressive and it is with that intensity where he has made the most obvious difference since taking charge."

Despite this, Murphy admitted Klopp's Liverpool side remain a long way off where he would like them to be. "Statistically they have made more tackles and had more shots than any other top-flight side since he took charge, as well as increasing their average distance covered and sprints per game," he said.

"But there is still a long way to go before the team is where Klopp wants them to be, and he is probably looking all over the world at different players who could come in and improve the quality, especially defensively."

Liverpool face Manchester United at Anfield on 17 January. The Reds will be without the likes of Philippe Coutinho and Dejan Lovren for the game against their eternal rivals.