He wants to achieve certain targets before he leaves. 1:45 It has been the longest summer for the two men. The team that came so close to achieving an unprecedented quadruple last season was back in action in a friendly against Manchester United in Thailand. Neither side's prospects for the 2022-23 season are likely to be offered by the Rajamangala Stadium defeat against United. The preseason is a good time to prepare for the year ahead, to acclimatize new players, and to learn to cope without departed players. During the club's two-day stay in Thailand, the manager and his players were interviewed by the sports network. In a move that could be worth as much as £85 million, Darwin Nunez became the most expensive signing in the history of the club when he joined from Benfica. The challenge of beating last season's champion Manchester City in the premier league is one of the challenges. After winning two of a possible four trophies last season, as well as being relaxed and sounding upbeat after a short summer break, he said that he is planning for the future. After he leaves the club, the former coach talked about his vision of the place. With a World Cup wedged in the middle of the season, it will be a challenge on and off the field. The interview has been edited for clarity. The preseason schedule for Europe's top clubs.
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How do you think about last season, when you came so close to winning four trophies, but didn't win the premier league or the cup?
The season was a success and I'm positive about it. It would have been great to win everything, but it doesn't hurt anymore.
When we came a bit short in the league, it hurt, but the next day we saw everything we needed to know, the people. We do it for the people and they appreciate what we did. It was a great season with a lot of points, a lot of games and a lot of fun.
| Aug. 6 | Fulham (A) |
| Aug. 15 | Crystal Palace (H) |
| Aug. 22 | Man United (A) |
| Aug. 27 | Bournemouth (H) |
| Aug. 31 | Newcastle (H) |
| Sept. 3 | Everton (A) |
We were aware that we would have had to improve and change if we had won the competition. It's not always possible to do the same things and hope for a better outcome, and that's what we would have done had we won it, so now of course, it's all good and we are here, ready to go.
You have already added Luis Diaz in January, but you have signed Darwin Nunez, even though Sadio Mane has leftLiverpool. Do you see the evolution of your squad over time?
He said it is necessary. We lost Sadio and other players from the playing squad last year. We brought in Luis in the winter, Darwin in the summer, and Calvin in the fall. It is exciting because the boys are fresh and full of excitement, so it changes the dynamic in the group and it is really necessary.
I'm in my seventh season, and it's important that we don't repeat the same things. For us to push ourselves to the next level, we need a new input.
Mark says it's good news for the club that Mohamed Salah will be there for at least the next twenty five years.
How important was it for the team that he decided to stay after all the speculation?
It's very important. This is always the case. We would have had to deal with that if it weren't for the fact that Mo wanted to stay. It's just talks.
Nobody is aware of it if you do that in other areas. At the moment, you know they are together. In football, we all do that in public, but for us, it was never like that.
It was a big deal for us. If we had to sign him from another club, what a player would we get? He's still here and that's fantastic. He is happy about the future with us now that he is here.
You signed a four-year contract with the club in April which will take you to 11 years at the club.
He said sorry.
Have you thought about what you want your legacy as a manager to be now that you've won everything? Do you need to do anything before you go?
That's not really the case. It's not that I look at my time in Mainz and think about it, it's a nice memory that we won the league twice and the cup in the same season. It's nice, but it's not the first thing that comes to my mind when I think about my time at Mainz, and it won't be like this when I think aboutLiverpool.
My goal is to win as much as possible, but if you leave, you have to leave the club in the best possible situation. That is important to me. If you leave a club, someone has to clean it up. It shouldn't be that way. The club should be in a good position and have a team that is ready to go.
In the future, that is what will happen. I am happy with the situation we are in and the squad we have.
It is now really interesting and we can mix it up. The mix has quality from the youth side and experienced players. All of them are determined and want to win more and that's what's important. Everything we do is based on the past, but we need to be prepared for the future. I think we are in a good spot because we have to do all of this at once.
The scenes which unfolded before the final of the European club competition were investigated by the U.S. governing body.
Do you think it will be a case of Manchester City vs.Liverpool for the honours over the next four years? Both of you seem to be ahead of the game.
We are not that far away. The points tally last season is a misunderstanding.
I don't know how many points we had, but we played them four times and didn't win against them. We were really good in those games, but we never won, so it's not because we are bad, it's because we never won.
You have to look at what they're doing right now. This year they did not get worse. Man United has a new start and is still in the top spot.
We changed a bit, but it was the same as always. We will see in the next few weeks if the city has changed more. That is how it is. We can go if the basis is right. I'm not interested in the points we had last year, I'm only interested in what we can get this season, but I'm not sure, so we will have to fight.
The World Cup will have an effect on the season. Do you think it will cause confusion?
It is weird domestically and internationally. They stop playing in Germany in the middle of January. On Boxing Day, we begin again. If you are still in the competition, the World Cup has an effect. It's clear that it's a huge challenge and we have to prepare as best we can for the next few months.
The group of players going to the World Cup can't all go to the final. It will be difficult because a lot of them can go to the semis. The boys have to play again.
It's difficult, but it's the same for all of us and that's the only positive thing about it.
The ones at the World Cup get a long enough break, but in Germany it is an extremely long break and that is a challenge to pick up again and get rhythm. Everyone expects our players to perform again one week after they might have won the World Cup.
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