Critics were too quick to judge new strikers Erling Haaland and Darwin Nunez, and the latter is a good one according to the man.
After coming off the bench to score one and set up another in the Reds' 2-2 draw with Cottagers on the opening weekend of the season, the Uruguayan is hoping to add to his tally against Crystal Palace on Monday Night Football.
The Reds lost to Manchester United in Thailand in their first pre-season game, but the attention was on the game and the fact that Nunez missed a chance.
"Five weeks ago, when we started pre-season and he had his first game, it didn't look great from the outside world," says the German coach. It is crazy how quickly we judge people.
Imagine if someone said that the first day of work didn't go well. We don't want you to see us again. We would have all been gone if you got a second chance. There was no chance of that happening.
It's good for us and good for him. He is a different type to what we had. He is very active. He's strong, he's good, and he's more secure in yourself in a new environment because of that.
"You can't say, 'Come on, you have to give me 100 percent immediately' - you have to develop it and that's what we're doing at the moment and in a good way"
If you want a more accessible video player, please use the chrome browser.
The manager thinks that Haaland got the same treatment when City lost the Community Shield to the Reds.
The Norwegian has scored two goals and set up another in his first two games for City.
Everyone was asking if Haaland would score against Manchester City the week before the season started. A week is a long time in football.
After admitting "it doesn't look like something will happen" over a summer signing for the club, the manager believes the solutions to the problem lie within his squad.
Thiago will be out for up to six weeks after he was injured during the 2-2 draw with Cottagers.
Illness and injury kept Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and others out of the game against Palace.
The club is not likely to dip into the transfer market for reinforcements in the middle of the game.
"If there was an opportunity, we would have done it, but I don't see it because we had a lot of conversations already and it doesn't seem like something will happen," he said.
We have injuries but I'm happy with the strength and size of my squad. There are many options for it. The transfer market only makes sense if you can find a good player.
The squad has all the other solutions. There are too many injuries. Naby will be back on Monday, so he may be back as well.
All Rights Reserved © 2024
