Jurgen Klopp has claimed there is nobody better than him to be Liverpool manager and called for patience as he looks to build a team that can challenge for the Premier League title.
The former Borussia Dortmund boss said he would leave Anfield if he felt there was a candidate more suitable than him for the role, that assessment coming despite the team sitting 11 points behind leaders Chelsea, having played a game more.
Klopp feels the competitiveness of this season's Premier League means securing Champions League football would be an "outstanding" accomplishment.
And the German reminded critics this is only his first full season at the helm, insisting he still has the support of Liverpool fans.
"When you reach a target, it is fantastic," Klopp said to Sky Sports. "If you don't get it, it doesn't mean you are bad or not the right person. Come on, let's try it again.
"I always think about alternatives. Is there somebody else who could do it better? If I knew somebody who could do it better I wouldn't be here.
"I feel supporters still think I'm the right person in the right place so we feel that trust and faith. We have to use it but around us is a lot of quality. We need to respect this.
"I am manager of Liverpool football team and I really enjoy this job. Maybe there are easier jobs out there but it is really good.
"I would say this season, going to the Champions League would be an outstanding success because of all the quality around us.
"This season is a good example for how close and how tight it is."
Klopp was reluctant to put a timeframe on how long it will take to win the Premier League, but he does not think a first title since 1990 should be an immediate expectation.
"We have a lot of fans that maybe were not alive when we won the last title and my job is to make it more likely," he said.
"I am really convinced about the circumstances and the basis we have. How long it will take? I have no idea but everybody should see we tried every day really hard.
"It is not only because we want it more or have wanted it for longer, it doesn't make it more likely. We have to do it better and that is what we are working on.
"I said at the beginning we cannot have the history of this fantastic club in our backpack. It makes no sense to carry it around.
"There is pressure and sometimes we are still not patient enough. In January and February you could feel everybody thought, 'It slips away again'.
"But it was not again. It was the first time for us and that is different."
