Jurgen Klopp: We need full Liverpool squad back together
Friday 2 August 2019 23:07, UK
Jurgen Klopp cannot yet enjoy the luxury of keeping a winning squad intact as he is still waiting for all of his players to be reunited ahead of the 2019/20 campaign.
All of Liverpool's first-team regulars have remained following their Champions League success.
But Klopp only got Mohamed Salah, Alisson and Roberto Firmino back with his squad on Monday after they were given time to recover from international duty.
Live FNF
Meanwhile, Sadio Mane will not report back until Monday, the day after the FA Community Shield encounter with Manchester City, after helping Senegal to the Africa Cup of Nations final.
Klopp was also without Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri until this week following injuries to the pair and Liverpool failed to win their first four pre-season friendlies before beating Lyon on Wednesday.
The five late arrivals might not be ready to start at Wembley so Klopp is preoccupied with finding a winning formula following the staggered starts to pre-season rather than enjoying the continuity.
"It is [nice] but it's not exactly like this because I lost six players for pre-season, which is semi-cool," he said.
"For the first time in my career, now or from Monday onwards when Sadio is back as well, I will have my team together from last year.
"We have to use it but these other transfers we did, keeping this team together, staying on our toes, staying aggressive, staying greedy and let's go again. We will see.
"But the only worse thing that could happen is that we won all the [pre-season] games easily without six players, because problems will come in the season and we have already got a little taste of problems and we have to make sure we are ready and bring solutions, and that's what pre-season is about."
Klopp added: "We have to train together and games are coming up and in that period we still have to win football games.
"That's the main thing I am thinking about at the moment, how we can do that, and I don't think too much about how happy I am that the boys are still together.
"We decided that long ago and I'm not surprised that has happened."
Watch Liverpool vs Norwich on Friday Night Football from 7pm on Sky Sports Premier League on August 9; Kick-off is 8pm
