Paul Cook believes Romelu Lukaku needs a history lesson.
Manchester United’s new £75million signing may have declared that he’s joined “the biggest club in the world”, but the Wigan Athletic boss insists that accolade belongs to Friday night’s visitors to the DW Stadium.
A Scouser and passionate Liverpool fan, Cook will be bursting with pride when the Latics take on Jurgen Klopp’s side. There will be a warm embrace for the man he’s convinced will bring the glory days back to Anfield.
“I personally see Jurgen Klopp as a perfect fit for the club,” Cook said.
“In the days of non-stability, I think he’d be a perfect one for us to stay with, for as long as we can.
“You hear this week about Lukaku saying he’s joining the biggest club in the world in Manchester United. I think for any Liverpool fan, we believe that Liverpool Football Club is the biggest in the world.
“When you’ve had that history we’ve had, when you’ve had the success we’ve had, every supporter is entitled to believe that.
“But you only have to look around and see what the clubs in this area are doing to realise it’s a real hotbed of football.”
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There’s a strong Merseyside influence at Wigan with Peter Reid helping out on the training ground on a voluntary basis since the League One outfit returned to pre-season.
Cook joked that he intends to ignore some of the Everton legend’s advice ahead of their first friendly of the summer.
“Peter’s already had a gripe, he wants us to kick them off the park on Friday night! I certainly won’t be buying into that one for sure,” he said.
The 50-year-old moved into management with Southport in 2006 after an impressive playing career spanning more than two decades, which included spells at Wigan, Norwich City, Wolves, Tranmere Rovers, Stockport County, Burnley and Accrington Stanley.
A successful spell in charge of Sligo Rovers saw him progress to Accrington before he won the League Two title with Chesterfield and then repeated the trick at Portsmouth last season.
In May he accepted the opportunity to return north to take over at Wigan, who had just been relegated from the Championship.
It’s early days as he looks to put his own stamp on the squad he inherited but whatever the outcome against Liverpool it’s an occasion he intends to relish.
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“It’s just a great game for everyone,” Cook added.
“When you are such a big fan of a club, it just adds that extra spice. But you also have to be professional, and look at it from a football point of view.
“It’s going to be a tough game - Liverpool will say they’re not ready, we’re nowhere near ready either.
“We’re miles off - we’ve done one session on shape at the minute, and we’ve got so many players injured or unavailable. That’s not a criticism but a fact, and what we’ll do is acquit ourselves as well and as professionally as we can.
“It’s a really difficult game for our lads - for a first home game it’s as tough as it gets. We all have that professional pride, and the first thing we do when we speak about the game is we want to win.
“But we’re also not stupid enough to know that playing against Liverpool that might not be easy. We’ll certainly be doing our best, and not just turning up. We want to give them a good game.”
Friday’s match kicks off at 7.30pm. Fan can pay cash on the turnstiles priced £15 for adults, £10 for under 18s, £5 for under-11s and £2 for under-5s.
Home supporters will be allocated in the West Stand with away fans in the East Stand.
LFCTV and LFCTV GO will be bringing you all the action as the team prepares for the new season and a return to UEFA Champions League football. Go to www.liverpoolfc.com/watch to find out how to see every game and enjoy behind-the-scenes access every step of the way.