The confidence of Jurgen Klopp in Pep Lijnders while the replacement of Zeljko Buvac has been confirmed in Liverpool – Paul Gorst

The murmurs of discontent were not long in coming.

A few days after Zeljko Buvac's departure from Liverpool, the Reds recorded two losses in just one week after a home draw with Stoke.

Buvac – who also missed the stalemate with the Potters – would be out for the rest of the season and the immediate results took a hit.

Shortly after the home draw with a relegated Stoke team, Liverpool scored four goals in Rome, overtaking the Italian side in the Champions League before losing 1-0 to Chelsea later in the week.

That the perceived sticky patch coincides with the announcement of Buvac's release was a manna from the sky for conspiracy theorists. Maybe it was the Bosnian who secretly crossed the ship all that time?

Perhaps Klopp's inability to tap into the knowledge of such a respected personality in the form of a long-time aide, Buvac, was the root cause of the fall?

It was an easy conclusion to draw in the era of social media: quick-knees and jerky legs.

These defeats can however – at least in part – be explained in mitigation.

A 4-2 defeat of Roma at Stadio Olimpico was still enough to allow the Reds to qualify for the Champions League final before their composition was beaten 1-0 outside Chelsea in the Premier League. Klopp may have given priority to this match in Kiev.

The absence of Buvac will undoubtedly have been keenly felt by Klopp and his collaborators behind the scenes during the last season of last season, but there can be no question that pure speculation from the outside.

In truth, very few people knew what Buvac – a man nicknamed "The Brain" by Klopp – specifically provided to Liverpool, but his replacement proved that trust in the Reds manager was well placed.

Pep Lijnders officially replaced Buvac in January, baduming the role of "deputy director" alongside Peter Krawietz.

Returning to the club last June after a brief stint at the head of the NEC in his Dutch home country, the renowned coach quickly climbed the ladder as he had done before he left.

Lijnders first took charge of the Under-16 Liverpool team when he took office in 2014 and was immediately impressed. He became the coach of the first team in the summer of 2015.

He replaced Mike Marsh after his departure and his importance increased only after the installation of Klopp as a director in October of the same year.

Now positioned as Klopp's right-hand man, the 36-year-old has been booming since joining the Dutch giant PSV in 2002 as a youth coach.

Having already worked for PSV, Porto and Liverpool before his 37th birthday, Lijnders is rightly regarded as one of the brightest young coaches in Europe.

He does not think of it anywhere near Melwood, where his meticulous work and attention to detail have kept Liverpool looking for the top two football club awards this season.

With less than six weeks left, Liverpool continues to fight for the Premier League and the Champions League. They could finish the national season with 97 points – a total that would undoubtedly be the best of their time.

The loss of his 17-year-old badistant would have been an undesirable secondary intrigue for Klopp 12 months ago, but it is fair to suggest that his decision to appoint Lijnders as replacement was fully justified.

And maybe, just maybe, the Liverpool manager has now gained the confidence of those who predicted a catastrophic fate after Buvac's departure.