'Liverpool fans will probably have to put up with this' says John Barnes about Reds' defensive woes

John Barnes has advised Liverpool fans to "put up" with the Reds' poor defence until the end of the season and has backed Jurgen Klopp to address his side's problems at the back.

The Merseyside club were leading 2-0 against Arsenal at the Emirates in their last fixture, until three goals from the Gunners made it 3-2 before the hour mark, and the tie ended in a 3-3 draw.

Manchester United legend Gary Neville has criticised the Reds' lack of quality in their back four. The ex-Red Devils defender believes the only way to fix the problem is by sanctioning the sale of the weak links.

Klopp's side have the joint worst defensive record amongst the top six teams in the Premier League. They have conceded 23 goals after 19 games. Barnes has pointed out that Liverpool's poor conversion rate at the other end of the pitch is costing them points this season as they sit fourth in the table with 35 points, 20 points behind leaders Manchester City.

"I think Jurgen Klopp will try and address that defensive problem but unfortunately it did not work out this year and Liverpool fans will probably have to put up with this until the end of the season," Barnes told talkSPORT.

"Liverpool are not the only side who drop points, everyone drops points. There are points Liverpool should not have won but we did get them.

"We are not very good at the back but we should have been more clinical going forward. We should have had more goals in the first half, we could have been three of four up. We score a lot of goals but if you look at our conversion rate it's not very good.

"But that is our manager. He has identified the problems and failed to get Virgil Van Dijk in and Naby Keita is coming next year so he does know we have to improve defensively. Hopefully in January or by next season we will have improved.

"But for now we have to play with what we have. We're fourth at the moment which is good. Yes it's disappointing we threw away the game but we were playing against a very good Arsenal team.

"Both teams are not great and that is not going to change overnight. Klopp has identified that problem and is looking to improve the situation with the players he has got."

"What Klopp shouldn't do and fans need to also realise this, is spend money just for the sake of it. What he could have done is spent £60m pounds on players other than Van Dijk and Keita and players he did not want. Klopp has been here for two years and unfortunately people think that is long enough for a manager."