The Anfield club, which dominated English soccer in the 1970s and 1980s, last won the old First Division title in 1990, but have finished as runners-up five times since.

Seven different managers have tried and failed to recapture Liverpool’s long-lost domestic glory before Klopp arrived at Anfield in 2015 to — in his own words — turn the Merseyside club from “doubters into believers”.

“Without knowing it at the time, that was probably the most important thing I said to my players, that we have to create our own stories and history,” Klopp told Sky Sports.

“Meanwhile, the history is no burden anymore. The history is now our wonderful background, it is the basis for what we are doing.

When I came in, we had to say, “Don’t compare us anymore with the fantastic people who played for this club and won everything in the past.” We needed to get the opportunity from our supporters to find our own way.

Klopp, who also delivered Liverpool’s sixth Champions League crown last season, dismissed the idea of having a statue made in his honour, like former managers Bill Shankly and Bob Paisley, who have been cast in bronze outside Anfield.

“I don’t want a statue, that is not my motivation,” the German manager said.

“It’s clear the team are in a good moment, we are young enough to still go for something.”

“It’s a moment like last year’s Champions League final, you carry on. It’s good to be in this club at the moment.”

Liverpool’s next match is a trip to Manchester City next week, and Klopp laughed at the idea of receiving a guard of honour from last year’s champions as well as any other opponent they play in their remaining games.

We’ll see, I don’t think we can influence that. “We are champions, and on the pitch, we will behave as though we have never won it,” he added.

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English Premier League (EPL) leaders Liverpool are chasing their first league title since 1990 and Van Dijk said Klopp could be brutally honest when assessing their performances.

“He’s (Klopp) very passionate, he’ll tell you the truth at all times,” Van Dijk said on The Premier League Show.

“He won’t go beating about the bush. That’s something I personally like a lot and most of our players like it as well.

“We have plenty of meetings throughout the whole season where he is definitely not happy about some things.

“That’s a good sign, even when we’ve only lost one (league) game all season there have been some moments where we can do much better.”

Liverpool have the best defensive record in the league, having conceded 18 goals in 31 games, but Manchester City can leapfrog their rivals if they win their game in hand.

However, Van Dijk said the title race will go down to the wire.

“That’s the unlucky bit for us, that they (Manchester City) have been fantastic throughout the whole season. We have been doing in the league fantastically as well,” Van Dijk added.

“It’s something good for people that love football to see. I have a feeling it will go right to the end. We will give everything we have and they will too.”

Liverpool host Tottenham Hotspur, who are third in the standings, in the league next Sunday.

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Liverpool are second in the standings with 73 points, one point behind defending champions Manchester City with eight matches remaining this season.

“I don’t think any other coach has to answer this kind of question. This is really unique, “Klopp told a news conference on Tuesday after being asked if a Champions League exit would make it easier to win the Premier League.

“We don’t see it like this. We want to be focused on the game. Even if it would harm us we could not change it.”

Liverpool, who last won the English league title in 1990, drew 0-0 in the first leg at home to Bayern last month.

Liverpool, Champions League runners-up last season, have struggled away from home in Europe this term.

They lost at Napoli, Red Star Belgrade and Paris St Germain (PSG) in the group stage.

“We can not go out and play on one-and-a-half legs. This game has nothing to do with anything else,” Klopp said. “If we win it and deserve to go through it could change the world for us.

“If we lose we will concentrate on Fulham on Saturday. It is one game, a very important game. Saturday is Fulham and then the next one. Tomorrow we play against Bayern.”

The German, who has experienced his share of big games in Bayern’s Allianz Arena as Borussia Dortmund coach, said Liverpool would need to be bold against the Munich side.

“When you have the ball you have to be really confident against such a team,” Klopp said. “That is what we have to show. There will be moments when we can dominate or when Bayern will dominate.

“We have to score tomorrow and defend well. It is an open game. In an open game you can always win,” he said.

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The Dane said Klopp unfairly shifted the blame for Liverpool’s defensive frailties onto Dejan Lovren by hauling him off in their 4-1 Premier League loss to Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.

Harry Kane scored a brace while Son Heung-min and Dele Alli also got on the scoresheet to hand Liverpool their second league loss after September’s 4-0 hammering by Manchester City.

Defender Lovren was responsible for Tottenham’s second goal when he failed to cut out Spurs keeper Hugo Lloris’s long throw-in which allowed Kane to find Son.

Liverpool manager Klopp responded by replacing Lovren with Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain on 31 minutes.

“What he’s done now is put all of the responsibility on to Lovren. He will now be in the headlines for this, and that’s really unfair. It should be the manager,” Schmeichel said.

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