Jurgen Klopp: New Liverpool boss promises Premier League title within four seasons

New Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has insisted that he will have the final word on player recruitment at Anfield, after signing a three-and-a-half year deal to replace Brendan Rodgers. With his predecessor deemed to have spent large sums very poorly during consecutive summer windows, the value of the club's transfer committee has come under scrutiny over recent days. However the German insists he discussed the issue before agreeing to join and has no problem with the set-up.

"It was not a problem for 10 seconds," the charismatic former Borussia Dortmund boss was quoted as saying by The Mirror during his first Premier League press conference on 9 October. "We talked about it but I'm not an idiot. For me it's enough that I have the first and last word [on transfers]. I need the other people [on the committee] to get the perfect information. It's really easy to handle this."

Dubbing himself as the 'Normal One' and apologising for his slightly broken English, Klopp spoke of his pride at having been chosen by Liverpool and his desire to see the team start again after an uncertain beginning to the 2015/16 season that has yielded 12 points from eight Premier League fixtures and left the Reds drifting in mid-table. He also pledged to win their first title in 25 years by 2019, a feat Rodgers almost achieved two seasons ago, only for his side to fall agonisingly short despite the best efforts of Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge.

"Please give us time. This could be a real special day, if we are patient enough. In a special Liverpool way we can be successful. When I sit here in four years I would say we won one title. If not next time [I will manage] in Switzerland."

Having bid farewell to several members of Rodgers' backroom staff yesterday including assistant manager Sean O'Driscoll, Chris Davies and Glen Driscoll, Liverpool have confirmed that long-time Klopp associates Zeljko Buvac and Peter Krawietz will be joining their former boss in his new venture. Both men worked with the 48-year-old at Mainz and Dortmund, although he insists comparisons with the latter are useless.

"It's impossible to compare two clubs. It's not important. We did in Dortmund what we had to do to improve the players, to work with them. That's what we did but they are not the same players [here]. But I believe in the potential of the team."

Liverpool drew the final match of Rodgers' three-year reign 1-1 against local rivals Everton at Goodison Park and Klopp will take charge of the team for the first time when they travel to Tottenham on 17 October. His first fixture on Merseyside will come in the Europa League against Rubin Kazan five days later, before rounding off the month with games against Southampton, Bournemouth and Chelsea.