Jurgen Klopp has dismissed theories he could leave Liverpool this season.
Saturday marked seven years since Klopp was appointed to the Anfield hot seat, the same period he previously spent with Mainz and Borussia Dortmund.
The Reds have already fallen off the pace in the Premier League this term, leading to speculation the German could make a similar break next summer.
But Klopp, who has extended his stay until 2026, insists he has no plans to leave Liverpool and explained the reasons for his previous seven-year stints.
He said: “The situations in the clubs were completely different. A seven-year spell is not planned because I lost energy, or these kind of things.
“I was manager at Mainz and after three years we got promoted to the Bundesliga [but] three years later we got relegated.
“We tried one more year and the club needed a change because players left us for the Bundesliga and we couldn’t [get promoted] so they needed a fresh start.
“I was full of energy. I went directly to Dortmund and it was all fine. I could have stayed there. They wanted to me to stay. Nobody thought ‘It’s done’.
“We just couldn’t make the Bundesliga that year because we finished 4th in the second league.
“At Dortmund, it was just the situation of players constantly [being] bought by other clubs, left for whatever reason and that was a really hard job to do.
“That was really intense and really exhausting. The other reason why I said ‘We have to stop it here’, I made a year’s holiday because it was fancy at that time.
“Pep [Guardiola] and Thomas Tuchel did it so I thought ‘Let’s give it a try’. I couldn’t do it actually and after four months, I was here.
“I can understand that [because] I left after seven years and now we are in a difficult situation, people think that. But the situation is completely different.
“Being seven years here is intense, no doubt about that. I got older, everybody got older and that’s time. It’s nice as well.
“I got so many things back which gives you a boost.”
Liverpool sit tenth in the Premier League table ahead of Sunday’s trip to high-flying Arenal, who will aim to replace leaders Manchester City at the summit.
“Did I think before the season [started] we will be ninth or whatever after match day seven? No, because I don’t think about these kind of things,” added Klopp.
“But this is the basis we are and let’s go from here.
“If there’s one club who has a chance to go through it together, it’s us. We don’t have to do it always the same way like all the others,” added Klopp.
“We have the chance still to create something really special.
“From this point, does it look in the moment we will be champions at the end of the year? Unfortunately not.
“But in all the other competitions, we are not out yet and nobody knows where we will end up in the league so let’s give it a go.
“Difficult? Yes. Impossible? No. That’s enough.”