Joe Gomez pinpoints Klopp approach which has readied Liverpool for title defence

Joe Gomez claims Liverpool will be ready for the new Premier League season – because Jurgen Klopp has made them mentally strong.

Liverpool begin the defence of the title against Leeds at Anfield on September 12, just 48 days after ending the last campaign at Newcastle.

Klopp gave his players just under three weeks off before they returned for pre-season training in the middle of last month, and Gomez admits the last few months have been strange.

He insists he and his team-mates can handle this unusual preparation because Klopp has instilled the right mentality in them.

The Reds boss has made his players understand that a strong mind is as important as a strong body.

“Obviously it was a short break, then we had the restart and then the period when we switched off for a couple of weeks and that was that,” said Gomez.

“But I think more than anything, the gaffer instils in us that it’s a mental battle more than physical half the time.

“So we’ll be ready and we have a squad full of quality to rotate when needs be.

“The main thing is, mentally we are ready to go, and I think everyone is hungrier than ever.”

Gomez, 23, was not too disheartened by Liverpool’s loss to Arsenal in the Community Shield on penalties because the Reds played well overall.

The England defender has since joined up with Gareth Southgate’s squad and says Klopp will work with the remaining players at Melwood to ensure Liverpool are ready to kick off against Leeds.

“We created a fair few chances,” he said. “There are positives to take, as well as things we can work on.

“The positive thing is now we obviously all split up, but some will stay at Melwood and work in that short period before we come back for the start of the season to correct those minor details and hopefully be ready when the season starts.

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“The quality coming off the bench on Saturday showed that we have different options and they brought a real bright spark into the game.

“That’s going to be so important for us this year. We’ve always had such a strong squad, but I think now more than ever hopefully we can use that and I think everyone will play their part.”

Rhian Brewster was unfortunate to hit the bar from his penalty to allow Arsenal to win and the striker is the Reds’ top scorer in pre-season with three goals to gain even more Premier League suitors.

Sheffield United enquired about signing him on loan last week and Klopp says he will make a decision on his future before the transfer window closes next month.