Have a glance at the current edition of the Premier League Dictionary (first published 1992), and a fine old English tome it is too, and the word ‘Inconsistency’ and you shall come across the following description: Noun. Liverpool Football Club under Jurgen Klopp.

Der Trainer of Inconsistency FC is arguably more loved by his club’s fans than any other manager in the Premier League.

He has brought a gust of fresh air to the English game. He’s so passionate, so involved, has already taken Liverpool to two finals, is wonderful to listen to in interviews, has injected much-needed life back into one of the world’s great footballing institutions and plays progressive football that attempts to entertain his team’s fans.

And speaking of interviews has endeared himself even more to those fans by refusing to speak to the British tabloid The Sun, a newspaper that is despised on Merseyside for its portrayal of Liverpool supporters after the Hillsborough disaster in 1989.

And yet … And yet in football, words can only take you so far before the dreaded other subjects in the Premier League curriculum come calling. Arithmetic. And its cousin Statistics.

The league table never lies, so the wise old adage goes. Liverpool, as we all know, finished eighth last season. Eighth. Fans of Inconsistency FC will point to the fact that Klopp came into a firefighting role after Brendan Rodgers’ ropey start to the season resulted in his removal immediately after a Merseyside derby.

Try this interesting statistic though: Under Klopp, Inconsistency FC have taken 1.59 points per game. Under Rodgers, who let’s not forget, took Liverpool to within a whisker of winning the league for the first time since King Kenny Dalglish in 1990, the club averaged 1.88 points per game.

True, those statistics do not tell anything like the full tale.

Undoubtedly, Klopp, who signed an improved contract in the summer until 2022, is still rectifying issues left by his predecessor. Heck, he’s probably still rectifying issues that have been at the club since the managers before Rodgers.

On Saturday, Klopp is back at White Hart Lane, the stadium which, last October, he managed his first Premier League game.

He comes into it off the back of two league results that sum up Liverpool under his management. An enthralling 4-3 win at the Emirates against Arsenal, followed by a self-inflicted 2-0 defeat at Burnley. Liverpool can’t afford many — any? — more Burnleys if they are going to seriously challenge for, not just the title, which is definitely possible, but also the top four, which is more realistic.

It was the self-inflicted nature of the Burnley defeat that rankled Liverpool fans most. More than 80 per cent possession but still the same woefully slack defensive errors. Can Liverpool defend under Klopp? Improving in the Premier League is imperative on being able to defend. Because the old adage that strikers win you matches but defences win you leagues is as true as the table never lies.

At Klopp’s debut at Tottenham — a 0-0 draw funnily enough — the Liverpool fans unfurled a banner with his image on it and the slogan ‘We Believe’.

Patience is a virtue, and needed at Anfield too, but if results don’t become far more consistent it will be fascinating to see just when the description ‘Liverpool letting it continue under Klopp’ is added in the Premier League Dictionary alongside the adjective ‘Inconceivable’.

And finally ...

As a Scot, the news Donald Love’s exit from Old Trafford for Sunderland means for the first time since Manchester United were formed in 1902 that there is nobody Scottish either in the playing squad or at the helm of the club greatly saddened me. What a record. From Sir Matt Busby to Sir Alex Ferguson, and many more, the club’s success without its tartan contingent is simply inconceivable.