Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp ‘gutted’ as highly rated coach Pepijn Lijnders leaves
The highly-rated coach will be seen as a huge loss at Anfield as he becomes head coach at second-tier Dutch outfit NEC Nijmegen
LIVERPOOL have announced the departure of first-team coach Pepijn Lijnders.
The highly-rated German coach has agreed to become head coach of Dutch second-tier side NEC Nijmegen.
Lijnders first joined the Reds as an academy coach under former manager Brendan Rodgers in 2014.
He quickly established himself as a vital member of Jurgen Klopp's backroom staff and was promoted to first-team development coach.
Klopp has revealed his mixed emotions about Lijnders departure.
He said: "It's a strange mix of emotions when talking about Pep leaving us.
"Firstly, I am gutted to losing such a valuable member of our coaching team and such a brilliant person for the group.
"But that is tempered by the fact I am very excited for him to have this opportunity and as much as we would have loved him to remain with us, we cannot stand in his way fore what is a fantastic opportunity."
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Lijnders told " I could write for hours thanking the people at Liverpool who have helped me since I came here and the decision to leave has not been easy.
"In general terms I would like to thank all the amazing players and staff at Melwood and the Academy at Kirkby, who I’ve been privileged to work with.
"Also, at Anfield – that is such a special place with special people and I never took for granted going to work at one of the greatest stadiums in the world every other week.
"More specifically, I would like to thank Alex Inglethorpe, Michael Beale and Michael Edwards for the faith they showed in me, by giving me the opportunities here.
"To Brendan Rodgers, who promoted me to the first-team environment – I will always be in his debt for that.
"Working with the first-team squad was magical. They confirmed every day that everything starts and ends with passion for the game.
"And, of course, Jürgen and his senior coaching staff. They took me, my wife and our children into their lives and hearts and made us feel part of their families also.
"This club is so, so lucky to have someone of Jürgen’s calibre leading its football team – he is world-class, truly world-class and I hope to take many of the great lessons I learned from him, Zeljko Buvac, Peter Krawietz and John Achterberg into my own future leading a side.
"To be honest, you don’t really say goodbye to Liverpool Football Club, because you will always have to represent its honesty and passion wherever you go. It’s a stamp on your back."