Jurgen Klopp has insisted he is unconcerned by Mohamed Salah’s recent form as the Liverpool forward aims to live up to the ‘completely new standard’ he set last season.
The Egyptian has three goals from his 10 appearances so far this term, but had netted twice as many over the same period en route to 44 strikes in all competition last year.
Klopp believes his No11 faced less pressure during his debut campaign at Anfield, with each goal coming as something of a surprise to observers.
But he expects Salah to be rewarded for the hard work he has put in during his mini-drought as the season progresses.
He said: “At the beginning of the season, of course. Obviously expectation changed, that’s normal, he set a completely new standard last year.
“But for all the rest it’s what he did last year, nobody expected 10 goals after five, six, seven games. It was always a nice surprise and each striker could write a book about these moments when you score without knowing how it exactly works, how you did it.
“You need each ball in the perfect way and stuff like that but that’s so rare that it happens like that. Ninety-eight per cent of a striker’s [job] is hardest work and only two per cent are the kind of easygoing stuff.
"What’s massively changed is only the kind of questions you ask; last year I don’t think from the beginning he was a big story to talk about.
“He started with a slightly positive story; wow, not bad; and then even better - it all was a surprise.
“That’s how it is in my job, if I win games I know everything about football, if I lose three in a row people think I have no clue about football. Both is not true, the truth is always somewhere in between.
“It might be my English but after last time somebody asked me how I think he should be [I meant] how I am - I am completely relaxed.
“I didn’t say Mo should relax because he has to work hard, but that’s what he’s doing. It’s a completely normal situation, nothing to worry about, and I am relaxed about that."
