Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp is hoping things go far better for his side in pre-season this year after a nightmare time last summer.
Klopp's squad had a difficult time last year, causing them to endure a dreadful campaign that saw them miss out on qualification for the Champions League. After a period of rest, his troops are now back in training as they eye a more successful season this time around.
The Reds' internationals returned to the club's training base this week, joining the rest of Klopp's squad who arrived at the weekend. On Saturday, they will fly out for a training camp in Germany, including friendlies against Karlsruher and Greuther Furth.
After two days back in Merseyside, Liverpool will then fly out to Singapore for a tour of Asia, featuring games against Leicester and Bayern Munich. Their pre-season preparations are wrapped up with a friendly against Darmstadt next month.
Their schedule marks quite the change from a year ago when the Reds flew straight out to Bangkok and almost immediately playing friendlies. Klopp was left unhappy by how that pre-season turned out and has been keen to not repeat the mistakes.
“This year must be different. So we have now already three, four five weeks, I don’t know how long, without international football. Usually you play all the time. Now we play a lot," he said in April.
“We have to step up. And we have to prepare that in the pre-season and that’s why I want them back together as quick as somehow possible, respecting the necessity of holidays.
“I know that and I respect that and I want them to go on holiday for as long as possible but for this year we have to make sure we are together as soon as possible and can go from there.”
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According to The Athletic, Klopp has been keen to strike the right balance between the lucrative tours and ensuring he has enough time with his players. The German has worked closely with chief executive Billy Hogan, with 77 days between the end of last season and the start of the new one.
Klopp will have had his full squad for over a fortnight before flying out to Singapore, including new signings Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai. After a short period at the AXA Training Centre doing fitness tests, the Reds travel to the Black Forest.
The Liverpool boss will institue a punishing regime of double sessions, as he looks to foster the spirit and camaraderie he craves from his squads. Table tennis tournaments and karaoke nights will feature heavily.
The club will also be taking six legends to attend fan events and satisfy the myriad of commercial demands when they travel to Singapore. And it appears that his squad are delighted to be back, despite the punishing sessions ahead.
"It’s nice to see everybody after a short break. I think everybody is excited to go again and we want to show everybody what we’ve got. I think everybody has the same mindset at the moment," Cody Gakpo said.
"We really want to achieve something this year again. That’s the target and we will train hard for that. We ended, I think, the campaign pretty good with a nice run of winning games, and I hope we start there again and do that for the whole season."
While there are only two new arrivals, Klopp's squad has seen several departures. But veteran midfielder Fabinho has insisted that the Reds can head into the new season stronger than ever.
“We just hope that they will be ready to be with us. We will help them in the adaptation and hope they will be ready and get the ideas of the team as quick as possible," he said after returning on Saturday.
"It's good to be back. I personally had a really nice time on my holidays, I rested the body and mind. Yes, we are ready to be back, to work. Today we had a nice little session, running session, and it's good to start work again, to see how the legs feel, the body in general.
It's good. Now the focus is always the same – to try to prepare [and] do a really nice pre-season and be ready for this season. We have to make sure that we are ready to be back fighting for all the trophies again."
