Pep Lijnders has revealed he rejected several offers to leave Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp’s assistant is set to depart Anfield this summer alongside his superior, who announced shock plans to step down at the end of the season.
Lijnders, who rejoined the Reds as no.2 after a brief spell with NEC Nijmegen in his homeland, is preparing to embark on his own coaching journey.
However the 41-year-old admits that several approaches to pursue a career away from Klopp’s backroom were spurned out of loyalty to the German.
He said: “We knew already in the summer that we are coming toward the end of this project.
“The last years, I got offers. My heart always said yes, my loyalty and my respect and friendship with Mike [Gordon] and Jurgen said no.
“So, the moment we spoke and he said ‘I’m thinking about [leaving]’ I said that is, for me, clear: I will go and manage.
“We will end this project together. I feel that it’s the project of a lot of people and I feel that it’s the right way to do it, like this. The club can find a new coach with new elements.
“I’m excited to manage, I’m excited to go, to find the right club who really wants me.
“But until the last final of the season, I’m focused on Liverpool, not on what’s happening now. That’s why we have agents, no?”