Simon Mignolet and the Liverpool squad are expecting a tough pre-season under Jurgen Klopp, their first full one under the German manager.
Klopp joined in October last year, and immediately had a nasty fixture schedule to contend with which featured various European away matches and cup replays.
As a result, Klopp regularly complained that he didn’t have enough time to train with his new players, as they had to recover between matches instead. Interestingly, Mignolet even claimed that Liverpool were essentially ‘training during matches’ at certain points!
This summer, when Liverpool’s players are back from the Euros and properly rested, that’ll all change.
“The gaffer wants us to work really hard in preparation for next season to make sure we are fit and can deal with the intensity and his demands,” Mignolet told Goal.
“We weren’t able to train much with all the games we played – the matches were like our training – so this gives him a chance to spend more time working on everything he expects from us.
“In the gaffer’s seven months here we’ve seen that we’re heading in the right direction and in pre-season he can put his stamp more so on us and implement his thinking more.
“Those games in the ICC against such big teams is the best sort of preparation. It will be a great workout and something to look forward to.”
The Belgian keeper has been called up to his country’s Euro 2016 squad, although he’s not expected to feature heavily with Thibaut Courtois the recognised no.1. He might have to play second fiddle at club level next term too, with Liverpool already signing talented German Loris Karius to put pressure on the inconsistent 28-year-old.