Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk has confessed that Jurgen Klopp's imminent exit from the Reds will be "hard to take", but he believes that the German's farewell will spur the Reds on to continue chasing an unprecedented quadruple.
After almost nine years on the Anfield touchline, during which time he has guided Liverpool to Champions League crown number six and Premier League title number one, Klopp will vacate his post at the end of the season.
The German announced the extraordinary news to stunned supporters on Friday morning, admitting that he was "running out of energy" less than two years after committing his future to the Reds until the summer of 2026, and he stressed that he would never manage another club in England.
While Klopp told Liverpool's owners of his intention to step down in November, his players only learned of the news on Friday alongside the rest of the world, and Van Dijk - who was promoted to captain by Klopp last summer after Jordan Henderson's exit - offered his own reaction to liverpoolfc.com.
"It's a hard one to take, because the manager means so much for us, to me, to the club, to the whole Premier League I think," the Netherlands international said.
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"But he made the decision for him and his family. It was always going to be a tough one and it was definitely the case. He told us in private of course, and all of us were together.
"Like I said, it's a hard one to take but our mindset is to focus on business. We have a lot of targets still to achieve this year and why not finish the season on a high and together with celebrations for the boss as well?"
Klopp's unforeseen revelation comes at a time where Liverpool are still chasing success on four fronts, as the Reds hold a five-point lead at the top of the Premier League table and will take on Chelsea in the EFL Cup final on February 25.
In addition, Klopp's side advanced to the last 16 of the Europa League as group winners, and they will be expected to secure their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup when Norwich City head to Anfield for Sunday's encounter.
While opening up on his reasons for departing, Klopp insisted that he is not after early tributes and simply wants to go about his business as usual - a sentiment echoed by Van Dijk, who is hoping that the manager's exit will also give Liverpool an added incentive to finish the season on the highest of highs.
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"Of course this is massive, it's massive news in football. For us, it was also a very big day. But we have big targets this year and that's definitely stressed by the manager as well," Van Dijk added.
"For us and for me personally as well, I want to make sure the rest of the boys think like that too. I think that's the case as well. We all want to achieve so much and that mindset was already there since pre-season and that doesn't change.
"It will maybe even give you an extra boost to do that extra or maybe enjoy it a little bit even more together and make the last part of the season, the last bit of the manager's time at the club, the best time he's ever had. That's what we strive for and that's why it's business as usual.
"You want to be there and you want to be there for the team, be there for the manager. Let's make the rest of the season a special one so he can have the farewell that he definitely deserves."
As well as leading Liverpool to Premier League and Champions League glory, Klopp has also won the FA Cup, EFL Cup, Club World Cup, UEFA Super Cup and Community Shield since replacing Brendan Rodgers in October 2015.
The visit of Norwich on Sunday will be Klopp's 467th in charge of Liverpool, and the 56-year-old's win rate of 60.7% is already the best of any head coach to take charge of at least 50 games for the Merseyside giants.
Ben Knapton
