Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has called for focus from his charges as they prepare to face Arsenal in the Community Shield next Saturday (August 29).
The Reds are currently in Austria for a pre-season tune-up and will face German clubs, VfB Stuttgart and Red Bull Salzburg before a return to England to face the Gunners at Wembley.
Klopp says the results of the tune up games are not as important as helping his players shape up for the game against Arsenal next weekend.
“That’s why we try to train as often as possible and we cannot care and don’t care about the games too much, it’s just so that we are ready for them (Arsenal),” Klopp told LFCTV.
“With this game, we try everything to be ready for the Arsenal game but even after that there are another two weeks.”
Klopp’s reference there is to the fact that although the Wembley showdown with FA Cup winners Arsenal takes place on August 29, the Premier League does not begin until a fortnight later, with a numbers of international stars heading away briefly with their countries in the interim.
Liverpool begin their Premier League title defence against Leeds United at Anfield on September 12.
The German boss was relishing Saturday’s tussle with Stuttgart, remembering his boyhood fandom of the club.
“They are the team in the area where I grew up. There were a lot of people who were supportive of Bayern Munich and stuff like this… [but if] there was only one club, then it was Stuttgart.
“I loved the shirt, the traditional shirt was always white with a red stripe, a big one. I love the badge and all that stuff. “As a kid I was a massive, massive supporter. It’s long ago that I was a kid, honestly, and a lot of things happen since then but it’s, for sure, one of my favourite German clubs, it’s clear.”
