Photo: Mikael Hervestad / CC BY-SA 4.0 / Wikimedia Commons
Kostas Tsimikas has returned to Liverpool following a season on loan at AS Roma and says the squad's mood is high as pre-season training intensifies in the United States.
The Greek left-back spoke to club media in Chicago on Tuesday, the day after the squad arrived in the States for a two-week stay, and immediately following their first on-pitch session under new head coach Andoni Iraola.
"The mood is in the best levels, even the young kids are very positive and try to give everything," Tsimikas said. "All together, we try to achieve our goals."
Tsimikas described Iraola's early sessions as focused on ball retention and high-intensity work. "He likes the intensity in the training, everything is with the ball. I think he wants us to keep the ball, don't lose the ball, and try to play good football," he said.
The defender acknowledged a difficult previous campaign but said he had worked hard individually during the off-season. "I had a very tough and strange season last year, but I'm fully here, I trained so hard alone in the off-season," he said. "I can't wait to wear the jersey."
Liverpool face Sunderland in Nashville this Saturday in their first pre-season fixture of the summer.