Nearly everything went wrong for Liverpool during loss to Newcastle: Jurgen Klopp

‘I know him quite well from the coaching seminars.

“I think the lads went there expecting to win, it looked that way”. Yet, it could also be said that Liverpool’s exhausted legs betrayed the effect of Klopp’s gegenpressing on players who aren’t used to such a style and have travelled a long way in the last few days, with little time for proper rest and recuperation between games.

The win over Liverpool has boosted confidence among Newcastle’s ranks, with midfielder Moussa Sissoko saying the team are capable of finishing in the top half of the table should they stay consistent.

Wijnaldum was involved in both goals at the weekend, with the first being a cross/shot diverted in to the Liverpool net by defender Martin Skrtel, while the second was a composed finish past Simon Mignolet.

“It is a big thing to change, but I think the stats and so on show that we have been doing OK with Jurgen so far”.

“Everything is usually okay, this team has big quality and we know we like to work together”, he added.

Wijnaldum revealed that inside the Toon camp there had been a series of frank discussions in the wake of the 5-1 humiliation at Crystal Palace which left McClaren walking a tightrope.

And wins – not goals – are all-important to Wijnaldum, whose goal tally for the season stands at seven.

Asked if it was his goal rather than an own goal, the Holland global replied: “Yes, of course, because I shot on goal”.

Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson said he was anxious about the impact manager Juergen Klopp was having at his old team’s great rivals Liverpool.

“I am anxious about him because the one thing United do not want is Liverpool to get above us”, he said at the TechCrunch Disrupt London event.

“I couldn’t see that we should have won three points because we were not good enough, we didn’t do what we could do. People say, ‘Where do you solve it?’ You only solve it on the training field, you can only solve it through hard work, and that’s what the team got back to today”.

Hopes of a legitimate title challenge remain as ambitious as Rodgers’ previous bid to see out the season in the Anfield hot seat.