Sir Alex Ferguson says he is concerned new manager Jurgen Klopp will "do very well" at Liverpool.
Klopp made an immediate impression on his first day at Anfield, charming the assembled media as he labelled himself "the normal one" and predicted a Premier League title within four years.
The German's performance won the approval of club great Kenny Dalglish, the man in charge when Liverpool were last champions of England in 1990, and European Cup-winning captain Phil Thompson.
And the impact of the appointment is also being felt by Liverpool's greatest rivals Manchester United, with Ferguson admitting he now fears success will return to a club with just one league Cup to show for the last nine years.
"Well it's a good appointment. I admire him," the former Manchester United boss told ESPN. "I know Jurgen pretty well through our meetings at coaches' classes in Geneva.
"Strong personality, very strong, very stubborn, determined and his performances, and his career at Dortmund was a stellar rise to the top and I think he'll do very well.
"I don't like saying that, being Liverpool, because I'm worried about it but, no, he'll do well."
Klopp will have to work with a transfer committee at Anfield and does not anticipate any problems doing so, but Ferguson has questioned whether the system can work in the long run.
"Why give him a job if he can't do it?" said the Scot, who famously made good on his promise to "knock Liverpool off their perch" as he took United beyond the Reds' 18 English titles.
"When they're sitting around that table to appoint a manager, do they say, well, 'He can be part of the committee?' That's wrong, and I don't think Jurgen Klopp will accept that."