InterviewPep Lijnders reviews 'thunderstorm' Austria training camp

The Reds returned from a base in Saalfelden on Friday evening following a week of intense sessions in humid conditions and a clash with Red Bull Salzburg.

Before the squad flew back to play today’s FA Community Shield tie against Manchester City, assistant manager Lijnders reviewed the seven days away with Liverpoolfc.com.

He provided details on what Jürgen Klopp and his coaching staff wanted to, and did, accomplish during the camp, discussed the development of the club’s young players, and much more.

Read the chat below…

We’re speaking on the final day in Austria – how much of the objectives of the training camp have been achieved over the last week?

Let me first give a compliment to the hotel here, how they welcomed us. We cannot imagine a better place to prepare the team, that’s also why we decide always to be the last week here, it’s the last preparation. Normally you have the pre-season in three phases, this is the last phase of the pre-season where we want to create this absolute togetherness, where we want to create this team spirit, where we want to create this real clearness about how we’re going into the season, what the objectives are and how we want to attack it. With all the work on the pitch, with all the activities off the pitch, you felt day by day that this togetherness grew, that the team spirit became bigger. It’s a compliment to all the people around; of course the players, but behind the players is such a big group of passionate people, so a big compliment to them.

Jürgen described the last 30 minutes against Salzburg as a ‘thunderstorm’…

To be honest, the whole objective of this pre-season was to create a thunderstorm. With each session we did there should be a complete surprise element for the players, so it’s really cool that he called it a thunderstorm.

I know you were so pleased with that half an hour. What was it specifically that made you so happy?

The speed. The idea of play. The ideas where we felt we needed to improve from the first day of pre-season, analysing last season. That we could put that into place. I know it’s only 30 minutes, I know it’s only the last 30 minutes and we lost that game. Take the result away, it’s how we suffocated the opposition. This type of attack with the ball and without the ball, that’s what we’re searching for. That’s only possible with the great attitude of the players and a real clear structure. They put that in place. The speed of each pass, the direction it gave to the team, how we position ourselves, the way we wanted to break the last line, it was just really good.

There’s so much focus on training during these camps, it’s the key of what we come out here for. Is there a certain moment or session this week that really made you think ‘yes’?

To be honest, how I said, each session should be like a thunderstorm, it should have the character of how we want to play. I think that’s what we achieved. It has a lot of freedom for the players, which is important because we all know their creativity, their imagination, their unpredictability in terms of movements and in terms of their play, that in the end will always make the difference. That was always stimulated as well with a high element of competition; that’s the only way we feel they give everything because we don’t want them with the legs and the head, we want them with the heart, with the lungs, with the legs, with the brain, with the whole body. That’s only possible with competition. So, a lot of competition in this week. If there’s one session, I would say the day before Salzburg. We really worked on our offensive plan, especially with the line-up of the last 30 minutes. I was convinced already before but that gave me a little bit more conviction.

I wanted to ask about Fabio Carvalho. Jürgen has mentioned how many positions he can play. Will that be the plan for him, he won’t have a fixed position?

He’s a player who feels really comfortable between the lines, who has all the skills to break the last line with all different ways; with a dribble, with a pass, with a combination. So safe on the ball in these moments. Always with the goal in mind. You saw that after the first [pre-season] game when he missed a chance – he said, ‘Next game I will score.’ That’s the mentality and attitude we search for him as well. So we’re really happy with him, he’s a real prospect. The good thing with talent and young players is they only will become better, they will not become worse, if they keep this attitude. And he has a great personality as well. Bless him, what a boy.

We’ve got some younger talents on this trip and over the pre-season so far. I know you and all the coaching staff are so passionate about bringing them through, the inside pathway. How proud are you of what they’ve delivered over this summer? We’ve had so many involved in games, training and travelling...

We have to say, it’s time and time again. So each international break, each pre-season, there are surprises, there are new players, and the ones we wanted to have here, they were here. So that’s really important that they got time to be in and around their examples, the big guns, and they can learn so much, and that’s only possible with an open mind and with a lot of humbleness. One thing the Academy always gives us is a player with loads of talent, with the absolute will to go forward, they are all very brave. Big compliment to Alex [Inglethorpe], to the Academy, to the coaches who work there – they’re always in the background, they don’t get the attention like we get but they are really important for us.

As long as they believe that in two, three years the players they are working with can be in the first team, then we will produce players. The moment they don’t believe that pathway or they think they should go away or they should go, then for sure it will not work. They have to feel this responsibility to bring players into the first team. I like a lot. All of them have different characteristics, different styles but always when you look, you feel the identity of him in the game. Take Stefan [Bajcetic], take Isaac [Mabaya], take Tyler [Morton], now we have Conor Bradley, Owen Beck and Rhys [Williams] on loan, I say it constantly but they will not let you down. The only reason why we do it is because we believe we can win more games with them.

UNO has been the big game off the pitch on this training camp and there’s been a lot of chess as well. It was fascinating to watch you go head-to-head with Mo Salah a couple of times...

No comment! Let me say it like this, training really makes a difference. Mo plays every day – I wish I could play every day – but he’s a very good chess player, a very, very good chess player. I’m not bad as well but he’s very good. It’s a lovely game. I like a lot, always trying to think two steps ahead.

Just finally, it was around this time last year the idea for your new book began to formulate and now it has come to fruition. We’re only a matter of days now before it actually comes out and I know you want to thank everybody for the support you’ve had so far. How’s the excitement level now as we’re on the verge of it coming out?

• Pre-order Lijnders' new book Intensity here

I’m really privileged. It’s a book about Liverpool, it’s a book about all the people who work here, it’s a tribute to Jürgen, it’s a tribute to this era, it’s a tribute to the team. Every day I wrote, so it was a big dedication. It was important that nobody knew, so it’s really authentic, it’s real, it’s what really happened. We didn’t add anything like, ‘OK, this would be nice.’ No, every three days I would send the stuff to James. I’m proud, to be honest. I’m excited. So let’s hope everybody likes it. Guys, you will like it, that’s for sure – the ones who love Liverpool at least. It will give more insight, hopefully makes you a little bit prouder of the club and it gives you a real idea not how good our players are because you know this, but how big they are as people and how big we are as a team. Hopefully it gives some lessons as well about life and about how to see things.