Sam Allardyce blames Jurgen Klopp's coaching methods for Liverpool's injury crisis

Sam Allardyce thinks Jurgen Klopp's coaching methods are to blame for Liverpool's injury woes. The Reds currently have 11 players on the sidelines, six with hamstring problems, and Allardyce thinks Klopp's commitment to all-action football is the reason.

The 61-year-old Sunderland manager believes the German is guilty of underestimating the intensity of English football. He feels Klopp's naivety is to blame for Liverpool's recent spate of injuries, which may tempt him to buy defensive reinforcements this month.

Reflecting on the Reds' injury woes, Allardyce told talkSPORT: "That is him asking his players to play a high-tempo pressing game from the top end. It's great that the players have been able to carry it out but I think it has kicked in now.

"I don't think Jurgen has realised just how ferocious our league is at this period of time and because he has asked for that extra high-energy, that extra 10 yards, these lads are fatiguing now with so many games in much a short period of time and are picking up these muscle strains. They are highly-trained athletes more than ever before and they become more susceptible to injuries by the amount of work they do in a game now."

Allardyce's thoughts echo those of former Liverpool manager Graeme Souness, who also cited Klopp's dynamic style of play for the recent injuries. "Jurgen Klopp came in after 11 games and the players, certainly the players who were playing, would have had good fitness," the Liverpool legend said, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

"All the talk was 'we're going to be energetic, we're going to be high press at every opportunity'. That demands real fitness. It's a difficult balance coming in after 11 games to push the players when they're playing two, maybe three games a week − weekend, midweek, weekend. I think it's a hard thing, a big ask to do that and not suffer the problems they've suffered."