TourUSA diary: The hard work begins, exploring Pittsburgh and familiar faces

• Wednesday

6.45am: In an attempt to shift some jetlag and watch the waistline, this writer opted for an early morning gym session in the hotel. Sami Hyypia was there and looked as if he had been for some time, getting some miles in on the treadmill. By the time I finished about an hour later, Sami was still going strong on his run. Old habits must die hard for the 50-year-old, who retired from football in 2011.

9.45am: Then we're off to UPMC Rooney Sports Complex to begin the working day and cover the Reds' first training session Stateside. It's a brilliant facility for Arne Slot's squad to utilise and is the day-to-day base of the Pittsburgh Steelers and Pittsburgh Panthers. We actually caught up with a few of the Panthers players that were mulling around nearby. They were ecstatic to host us and couldn't believe Mohamed Salah, for example, was in the same building as them. They wished us well for the upcoming season before heading off. How nice.

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3pm: John Barnes and some of the media crew have been out shooting a guided tour around Pittsburgh with Steelers legend Brett Keisel (stay tuned for that on our social channels). They got a first look at Acrisure Stadium ahead of Friday's meeting with Real Betis. Liverpool will be given the honour of occupying the home team locker room there and apparently it's only the fourth time anyone other than the Steelers have used it. We join the esteemed company of Taylor Swift, U2 and Luke Combs.

5.20pm: The second training session of the day is briefly interrupted by a flash of lightning as Arne Slot takes his players off the training pitch. Safety is paramount, of course, and thankfully they're only off for 10 minutes or so before getting back to it.

10pm: Returning to the hotel after a spot of dinner, we bump into the recently arrived Jamie Webster, who is performing at a number of events throughout the tour. He'd taken a nine-hour train journey from New York City to get here and told us he absolutely loved it by observing the sights and getting through a Cold War documentary.

• Thursday

8.30am: Our legends ranks on tour have now been bolstered by Natasha Dowie, who touched down in Pittsburgh late the previous night. The Reds ambassador has barely digested her breakfast before sitting down for a round of interviews with local media. In between providing her thoughts on the women's game, the former Liverpool striker is eager to hear any tips for the city's best independent coffee shops.

10.45am: While waiting for training to start, the Pitt Panthers are working out in the gym in the other half of UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. We hear them doing three figures' worth of sit-ups to the tune of Sweet Caroline. Rather like me in the gym yesterday [Editor's note: fake news]. Outside, a session in the morning heat awaits Slot's men.

12.15pm: The six Vince Lombardi Trophies the Steelers have won are within eyesight as the web team make their way to the offensive line room turned press auditorium. Local and travelling media arrive to hear the thoughts of Slot and Curtis Jones.

12.30pm: And so begins an entertaining and insightful press conference, lasting around half an hour. Slot is up first and draws big laughs from those in attendance with a few of his replies, while at other points providing revealing answers that keeps Liverpoolfc.com well-stocked with stories. "I'm very happy with the energy the team is giving every single day," he declares.

Jones then takes to the top table and is at ease as he shares some beliefs on how the set-up in midfield may change under Slot. The No.17 offers: "I feel like now the centre midfield is going to be kind of more the heart of the team."

1.45pm: Returning back to base, there was a familiar face at the team hotel as Adrian popped in for lunch and to say the goodbyes he never had chance to. The former Liverpool goalkeeper is here with his hometown Betis after sealing a return there earlier this month. He tells us: "To be honest, it was a bit strange to come to this room with a different kit, a different colour, a different badge on the chest."

4.30pm: It's cool to see the different ways players choose to utilise their downtime. Within the team's communal area at the hotel, Kostas Tsimikas and Nathaniel Phillips looked to be playing a pretty intense game of Guess Who? Stefan Bajcetic was bossing the table tennis just as goalkeepers Vitezslav Jaros and Harvey Davies were facing off at darts. Competitors, the lot of them.

7.45pm: The media team's final task of the day is capturing the arrival of Diogo Jota, back with the Reds after his time off following Euro 2024. The striker will begin his pre-season tomorrow with testing at the same time his teammates are getting ready for the Betis clash.

Stay logged on to Liverpoolfc.com and our social media channels for more updates from the USA tour as the Reds head to Philadelphia after Friday's game.