Jurgen Klopp delivered one of his trademark double-takes when it was suggested he had inadvertently created a 'difficult' Liverpool legacy.
It is a question that can also be asked of Pep Guardiola when he mentions his time at Manchester City: 'how do you follow that?' making it sound like two of the most coveted jobs in world football will be a poisoned chalice rather than a dream gig.
The reasoning is that Klopp and Guardiola - like Sir Alex Ferguson - have set new standards that their successors cannot replicate. They have become more than managers; they are figureheads for the club, physical emblems of their team's playing style and emotional pillars for a generation of fans for whom competing for the highest honor risks being taken for granted. Once the Klopp and Guardiola era is over, there is anticipation of a decline and a greater appreciation by Liverpool and City for the rarest of times, with epic and consequential games like the one at Anfield on Sunday evoking wistful nostalgia.
Klopp rejected suggestions that he is too tough a act to follow. He then replied with a twinkle in his eye that replacing Guardiola could be a bigger problem.
"Go to City after Pep and you have to be champions ten years in a row to achieve the same," he joked.
A more relevant - and well-timed - point is Klopp's argument that whoever replaces him at Anfield will do so at the 'perfect time'.
The meager knowledge of Liverpool's history over the past forty years underlines why every living Kop appointment since the early 1980s can muster a wry smile when hearing that Klopp's success is making the manager's position less attractive.
Liverpool were tenth in the Premier League on the day Klopp stormed the Sir Kenny Dalglish Stand and promised to turn doubters into believers.
They were ranked 8th three years earlier when Brendan Rodgers sought to resurrect a fallen giant, 12th when Dalglish was called upon to sweep away the rubble of Roy Hodgson's brief reign, and 7th when Hodgson was asked to replace Rafa Benitez amid feuding owners Tom Hicks. and George Gillett Jr. that the government is trying to ward off.
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It was no picnic for Benitez in 2004 either, when he discovered that Liverpool was a less serene institution than portrayed in the brochure that lured him away from La Liga winners Valencia, the club that did not have the finances to guarantee the public perception that he is a world famous club. location matched the harsh truth of trying to compete in the new land of billionaires.
The sadly deceased Gerard Houllier could offer a similar reminder of the revolution he had to oversee to drag Liverpool into the 21st century - uniquely complex for the club's first foreign coach.
His predecessor Roy Evans had to restore Liverpool's core values when he took over from Graeme Souness in 1995, when Manchester United's dominance was still in its infancy. No one realized at the time that a fight with Feguson was a mismatch for 90 percent of managers during that period.
Four years earlier, Souness replaced legend Dalglish with English champions Liverpool, but with an aging squad and the club still seven years away from accepting that only a radical rethink of training methods, nutrition and professionalism both off and off the pitch could prevent the club's decline.
Dalglish took over a legendary team from Joe Fagan in 1985, but that happened just after the Heysel Stadium disaster. From day one he had to be the symbol for a club and a city. Smaller individuals would have wilted. Dalglish won the double in his first season, but no one fully understood the personal sacrifices Anfield's greatest servant had to endure. The burden of leading Liverpool through two tragedies contributed to his shock resignation six years later.
It wasn't until Fagan replaced Bob Paisley in the summer of 1983 that you would find a flawless Anfield transition, free of trauma both on and off the pitch.
Fagan kept Liverpool 'in their place' by winning the league title, the European Cup and the League Cup in his first season.
Since Klopp announced his impending departure from Liverpool, many have compared him to Shankly. The link is expanded to suggest the club needs the new Paisley this summer. Whoever takes the reins will have just as much in common with Fagan: the solid foundation that makes the job more, not less, desirable. Klopp will leave behind a young squad that will need annual adjustments rather than massive rebuilding in the coming seasons. His replacement will have no reason to embark on five-year master plans.
Broadening the theme, there is no reason why Anfield in 2024 should look the way Old Trafford did in the wake of Ferguson's departure in 2013.
David Moyes took over a Manchester United side that was past its peak but where supporters had become accustomed to transition phases being short and peppered with silverware.
United were expected to remain number one, as was Liverpool when Dalglish left the champions in 1991.
Whoever replaces Klopp will aim to finish first, but he will not be sacked for finishing second.
Liverpool will be hoping to take the title back from City between now and Klopp's retirement, but no one is under any illusions that as long as Guardiola is at the Etihad they will remain the team to catch.
Despite all of Klopp's extraordinary work, Liverpool have won one league title since 1990, leaving plenty of room for his successor to keep the side on track. It is not without reason that Liverpool operates in a different market than when Fenway Sports Group bought the club in 2010.
Let's not forget that it wasn't that long ago that the main contenders for the Anfield job were - with all due respect - the coaches of Fulham, Swansea and Wigan Athletic.
Klopp's greatest legacy is that he restored Anfield as a place where image and reality align. Thanks to him, there has never been a better time for a confident, talented coach to take on the challenge at Anfield and take on the fast train of Guardiola's Manchester City.
