Former Liverpool striker Neil Mellor has said that the club's manager Jurgen Klopp needs the time out that the international break offers after the defeat to Crystal Palace.

The Reds succumbed 2-1 to the Eagles at Anfield last Saturday to slip to their first defeat in seven matches in all competitions since Klopp took over from Brendan Rodgers last month.

Mellor acknowledged that it has been a "hectic" first month in charge of the club for the former Borussia Dortmund manager, and insisted that the international break can provide some welcome relief and help the German settle in further.

"You cannot find many fans of international breaks - certainly not for friendlies or group games against the smallest nations," Mellor told the Liverpool Echo. "But I feel this that break may afford Jurgen Klopp a valuable time out, as it were, after a hectic opening period - provided, that is, that we do not pick up any more injuries.

"Jurgen was thrust right into the centre of things when he arrived in October and the games - and press conferences - have come thick and fast for him since. Like us all, he will have been really disappointed to enter this break on the back of a defeat to Crystal Palace.

"But at least he can now maybe breathe out a bit and use the time to settle in a bit more and take stock of everything he has seen and heard."

Klopp's side, who sit 10th in the Premier League table after 12 matches, face a testing trip to league leaders Manchester City in their next match on Saturday, November 21.