Lijnders more than keen to assist you

PEP GUARDIOLA'S decision to bring in Pep Lijnders as his assistant at Manchester City could be a match made in heaven - or hell.

- By Simon Mullock

Lijnders' new boss has a reputation for being a manager who always listens intently to the advice given to him by his backroom staff before ignoring it completely.

But Lijnders, 42, the Dutchman who was such an important sounding board for Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool during a six-year period in which the German became the only barrier between Guardiola and total Premier League domination, is not someone who accepts being ignored.

When Lijnders was invited to return as Klopp's right-hand man in the summer of 2018, just six months after he walked out of Anfield to become head coach of NEC Nijmegen, he insisted he would only accept the offer if he was given more responsibility.

Klopp did what Guardiola must now do at The Etihad, by delegating tasks to Lijnders that would have normally come under his remit.