Having dropped to fifth with several teams around them holding a game in hand, Liverpool have returned to their traditional place outside the top four.

Jurgen Klopp’s side have endured a disastrous 2017 to date, with one exceptional performance against Tottenham proving to be anomaly as they’ve fallen from title contention to looking over their shoulders at sixth-placed Manchester United.

The returns of Joel Matip and Sadio Mane were meant to make a huge difference for Liverpool. Their most important players this season have not been able to rectify the issues in a squad that is so fundamentally flawed from front to back that progress according to the league table looks extremely unlikely.

Klopp has become a target of criticism from some corners. His tactics have been detrimental to the improvement of the side and failure to recruit in January has left him playing Lucas at centre-back, which is an emphatically failed experiment.

It has been a brilliant year or so under the German, really. Here’s why…

Squad Balance

Although Brendan Rodgers nearly took Liverpool to a league title, Klopp’s side are far less dependent on a single individual. While Sadio Mane is undoubtedly a key figure for the side, he is not the only hope of attacking influence as Luis Suarez was for much of his time at the club.

Rodgers’ side could be nullified if Suarez was unavailable or marked out of the match, but Liverpool now have greater depth across the whole squad. Liverpool’s squad has been rejuvenated under Klopp, they are a team capable of playing in a number of shapes and have more options, particularly in the final third.

Different Times

The Premier League was at a weak point when Rodgers’ Liverpool were at their best. Now, with the appointment of several top quality managers, the Premier League is stronger than it has been in the best part of a decade.

A clear top six are all of a high standard and being chased by an improving Everton team.

Finishing outside the top four, while very frustrating given their start to the season, is not embarrassing. Other clubs have spent more than Liverpool and currently have higher expectations. It does not make Klopp a failure, he is partially suffering from the strength of his rivals.

Earned Patience

Klopp’s career record earns him time to turn Liverpool around. Regardless of how Liverpool perform for the rest of this season, it was going to take time to make them into genuine competitors at the top of the league.

The start to this season increased the demands of many around Liverpool, but, in reality, finishing fifth or sixth is hardly a disaster.

Klopp is in credit as Liverpool boss for the improvements he has made to the squad and the renewed hope that they can move forwards. A brief blip is not enough to undo all the work he has done so far.