Dejan Lovren Is Ready

The team is working hard. My goodness, they must be working hard. The running. The drills. Working with tired legs. Adapting to new teammates. All the players must push themselves to perform at an astounding level physically and mentally in order to be ready for the start of the new season. They must understand the managers plans. They must understand their teammates. They must understand their bodies and work to improve their decision-making, speed, skills. And as the friendly games have began all the players must be looking forward to their first Premier League match together of the 2016/17 campaign.

After letting a bit of dust settle on his hood this summer, Dejan Lovren expresses his anticipation for Liverpool's first game on August 14th simply: "I am ready to start the engine again," he says.

With Klopp's starter season in the Premier League over, the Croatian defender reflects on Jürgen Klopp's work to adjust to the requirements of setting up a team in England.

"The manager came suddenly in the middle of the season and it was really tough for him to adapt, but he was adapting much quicker than everyone was thinking."

That's seems true enough. The Reds hit a few unexpected heights last season thanks to the astute German gaffer. And the player acquisitions this summer will have been directly informed by what Jürgen Klopp and his team learned from their first months in England. Height. Strength. Speed. We will see a stronger, faster Liverpool next season. That's for sure.

But the really hard work, the really juicy stuff, the cramps, the exhaustion, is happening now while the players get back into the swing of Klopp. Dejan Lovren is one player in the thick of that juicy stuff right now.

"I'm feeling a little bit tired at the beginning, which is normal after a break. But it's a good point to be here again and working hard."

Lovren will undoubtably start the season in the center of defense for Liverpool. He knows what Klopp wants at this point. And after a fairly solid showing in Klopp's Liverpool of last season, he will be trusted as an anchor in the team. But, Lovren is going to have to work to keep that spot. In a Jürgen Klopp side every single player will have to produce greatness and respond positively to the tribulations of a long campaign.

The hope now is that Liverpool pull it all together, all of Klopp's ideas and make a determined push for the top of the table. All while running and running and running.