Liverpool begin their Premier League title defence against newly-promoted Leeds on September 12, live on Sky Sports
Monday 31 August 2020 10:42, UK
Joe Gomez says Liverpool are mentally ready and "hungrier than ever" to meet the demands of the upcoming season.
The champions will kick off the 2020/21 Premier League season against newly-promoted Leeds, live on Sky Sports on September 12.
It will be a demanding campaign due to its late start as a result of the coronavirus pandemic disrupting last season, but Gomez says Jurgen Klopp will have the squad prepared for all upcoming challenges.
"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," Gomez told Liverpool's official website.
"The main thing is, mentally we are ready to go. And I think everyone is hungrier than ever."
Rhian Brewster's miss saw Liverpool beaten 5-4 on penalties after a 1-1 draw with Arsenal in the Community Shield on Saturday.
Despite the result, Gomez says there were positives to take from the game - most notably the squad depth that allowed Klopp to make changes during the game that brought "a real bright spark".
"We created a fair few chances," said Gomez. "Obviously we relied on that spark and [Mohamed Salah] and [Takumi Minamino] provided that. There's positives to take, as well as things we can work on.
"The positive thing is now we obviously all split up [for international duty], 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.
"The quality coming off the bench showed that [the manager has the option to make tactical changes] 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 and hopefully we can use that and I think everyone will play their part."
