Liverpool’s pre-season preparations are underway, with Jurgen Klopp‘s squad in their own little bubble in Austria.
Quarantine rules mean the whole group will need to remain in the training camp together for the next month as the Reds look to bounce back from a disappointing Premier League season, in which they finally managed to finish third.
“The pandemic is still around so we cannot just say, ‘OK, go out there for a while’ – we have to stay pretty much in a bubble all the time,” explained Klopp. “The planning of the pre-season was incredibly difficult. During the summer break everything changed, and it was really tricky.
“So we stay now for four weeks away, and that is really, really strange. I never did it before. There are moments when the boys are not entertained by us, and then you need characters.
“They all need to step up, I told the boys this morning they are all responsible. Not only the old ones, not only the experienced ones – everybody is responsible for a good mood here.”
Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip will be looking to regain match fitness ahead of the new season, while Euro 2020 and Copa America players will join the group in the next couple of weeks.
