Jose Mourinho has advised Jurgen Klopp to be honest with his Liverpool players as he bids to steady his side in the title race.
The Reds drew with Everton on Sunday to hand the initiative to Man City, who sit a point clear at the top of the Premier League.
And Mourinho believes the German must be “honest” to ensure his side remain on course in the hunt for trophies.
“He is very supportive,” Mourinho told beIN SPORTS. “He is going to make them believe what we also believe that the (Premier League) is open. It is not closed. City are not champions.
“But it’s not about trying to make them believe that. It’s about trying to prepare them.
“I think the best way to prepare sometimes is to be really honest. It’s not to try to sometimes sell dreams.
“It’s to say ‘we are not in our best moment’. They are not in their best moment. Salah would score those opportunities.”
Mourinho added he believes Klopp’s positive nature can help his side in this difficult moment.
“The personality of the manager is very important,” Mourinho added. “I don’t know Jurgen personally well enough like I know some other managers, but it looks from the outside that he is a positive person.
“(However) by being honest maybe they can think about, I don’t want to say their bad qualities, but the little details that are not going very well and try to focus on that and go for it.”