Veteran midfielder James Milner believes the tough experiences handed out in Liverpool’s last two consecutive defeats will help the team when the real action starts next month.
The Reds lost to Borussia Dortmund and Sevilla both within the space of 48 hours in the USA.
However, speaking to Liverpoolfc.com, Milner stated that those defeats should only serve to motivate the squad ahead of August’s return to competitive action.
“It can be a good thing and I think we have to use it as a good thing.
“Obviously coming on the back of the success last year and 97 points in the league, sometimes it’s easy to get complacent.
“I’m not saying we are that, there’s a lot of changes in the team, a lot of young lads coming in and we are finding how we play with each other.
“But back-to-back defeats, if we needed that kick, there it is. It will make us strive on and go even harder if we can.
“We know how high our standards are, so it’s early days and I wouldn’t be too worried about it. But we want to kick on and make sure we use this to drive us on.
“It’s been a tough schedule, tough conditions but it’s all money in the bank. Dealing with conditions like this and games so close and the travelling, it will be a piece of cake when we get one game a week at the start of the season.”
Liverpool plays Sporting Lisbon of Portugal in Yankee Stadium on Wednesday night (1:05am on Thursday kick-off UK time) to finish off their US tour.
On Sunday, Jurgen Klopp’s men will play Napoli in Murrayfield in Scotland before completing their pre-season schedule against French Ligue 1 side Lyon in Switzerland on Wednesday, July 31st.
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