Arne Slot admits that nothing seems important in Liverpool after the death of striker Diogo Jota.
The champions return to action in Preston this afternoon, still for the loss of their Portuguese international attacker ten days ago.
Jota, 28, and his brother Andre were killed in a car accident in Spain when they started their journey back to England for training for the season.
Slot has spoken for the first time since the devastating news and says that the club should find a way to continue and concentrate on football again.
For now he has told his players to be himself when they come to terms the sudden loss of their popular teammate.
The Anfield boss said: “Nothing seems to be important when we think of what happened.
“But we are a football club and we have to train and we have to play again, if we want it or not.
“What I told the players, I can also say it here. It is very difficult to find the right words because we are constantly discussing what is appropriate.
“What is appropriate for our actions? What is suitable for what we have to say? Can we train again? Can we laugh again? Can we be angry if there is a wrong decision?
“And I said to them, maybe the best for us is to do this situation as Jota was. And what I meant that Jota was always himself.
“It didn't matter if he spoke to his teammates against the staff, he was always himself.
“So let's try to be ourselves too. So if we want to laugh, we laugh, if we want to cry, we will cry.
“If they want to train, they can train, if they don't want to train, they can't train. But be yourself, don't think you should be different from your emotions to tell you.”
Laverpool announced last week that in all their teams, in all their teams, they will retire the NO20 shirt of Jota as a permanent tribute to him.
Slot has welcomed the move and say: 'We will always wear it with us in our hearts, in our thoughts, wherever we go.
“Maybe especially at difficult moments, but at any time we are here, we will wear it with us in our thoughts and in our hearts.
“His shirt retirement is the only thing we could and have done.”
Slot and his wife Mirjam belonged to the thousands that Anfield visited to express their respect to Jota in recent days.
And he said that the fact that the former wolves were forward who had experienced such an unforgettable few weeks gave him some comfort in the dark days.
He said: “What I have comfort is that he was champion in everything in the past month of his life.
“A champion for his family, which is the most important and most important because he is married.
“A champion for his country because he won the Nations League, [with] A country he cared about so much.
“And of course a champion for us by winning the Premier League.”
The outpouring of emotion since Jota's death has only strengthened the own band of Slot with the club and supporters.
He said: “In the title parade it was only the Liverpool fans I accept. Now it was the complete city this time, it was not only Liverpool, they were also the Everton fans.
“And not only this city, but also throughout the country and in the world. To represent this club in this city, now means even more for me and for my wife than before.”