Jurgen Klopp has set a clear tone for his Liverpool squad ahead of the upcoming UEFA Europa League campaign, emphasising the importance of grit and determination.
The Reds, who have been drawn into Group E alongside LASK, Union St-Gilloise, and Toulouse, are gearing up for a challenging journey in the competition.
Their first match is scheduled for Thursday, September 21, with the group phase featuring further fixtures on October 5, October 26, November 9, November 30, and December 14.
The German told Liverpoolfc.com: “Top. [I’ve] never played against one of the teams, which I love, and [I’m] really excited about it.
“[I] can’t wait to get started, happy that we don’t have to fly too far, to be honest, because [that’s] a bit of a concern when you play Thursday and then you come back from wherever in Europe, and there are some distances, I think, especially in the Europa League, which is really tricky. It could be really tricky so there we were a bit lucky.
“But with the teams we have to learn now, obviously. When I saw it I went through the squads directly and tried to figure out a little bit who I know, what I know already, but that’s obviously not enough in the moment.
“But we have, what is it? Three weeks? We will be prepared. When we know [who we will play first] then we will prepare that team and then the others.”
“They [all] have our full respect,” Klopp added. “I am looking really forward to the Europa League and didn’t play it that often in my life and that’s why it makes it even more special. So, it’s really cool.
“They will be good, they will be challenging. For them, obviously, it’s clear, I saw the reaction of the Belgian team and we will meet Macca’s brother, obviously. That’s good as well, saw the reaction of that, so that’s how it is, that everybody wants to play us, but everybody wants to beat us.
“So, we have to be ready, if we want to go far in the competition, we have to be really greedy in all these games and it’s my job to make sure that we are.”
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