Klopp: I'd be a real idiot to doubt Liverpool squad

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp said he would be a "real idiot" to doubt his players after their unbeaten Premier League streak came to an end.

Saturday's shock 3-0 loss at struggling Watford dashed Liverpool's hopes of going through the Premier League season undefeated – snapping a 44-match unbeaten run.

Liverpool, though, remain 22 points clear atop the table and on track to claim their first league crown since 1990.

And Klopp is retaining the faith in his squad ahead of Tuesday's FA Cup fifth-round showdown against Chelsea in London.

"I am not a little bit in doubt about the character of the boys and I would be a real idiot if I would be because they deserve my trust, my faith, and they don't lose it after a bad game," he said.

"It can happen that I get angry but I didn't get angry with the players in this meeting. If I go in that meeting and shout at them like they have lost the last 10 games because of a bad attitude that would be really strange. I am not interested that after the meeting I feel better. I am interested in the boys getting the right information.

"The situation we are in is special. Who can give us advice? Could I say that is the way we have to deal with it because I was there 20 times before and we dealt with it like this and it always worked out? No.

"I was never in a situation like that. We came through an incredible long period with incredible performances, sensational football, wonderful goals and great success until this point.

"There is a reason for losing a game and I prefer seeing the reason than not knowing why. It was not that the fortunes changed or that destiny wanted to give us a knock. We were just not good enough. That is the easy answer and that is filled with a lot of information that the boys get but not too much because we don’t want to think about that game for too long."