Ben Doak, a forward for Liverpool, loves being back on the field and having the opportunity to have an effect, so every minute counts.
The Celtic 2022 acquisition played five times for the Reds in the first half of the previous campaign, including four starts, but a lateral meniscus tear that required surgery before Christmas severely hindered his progress.
Doak is back in action as Arne Slot’s Liverpool prepare for the upcoming season after having to withdraw from his Scotland duty for Euro 2024 in the summer.
The 18-year-old was interviewed by Liverpoolfc.com as he was in South Carolina ahead of Slot’s team’s Saturday night match against Manchester United to wrap up their USA tour.
Doak provided insight on the hard work being overseen by the new head coach, his personal development and condition, and more.
Read a summary of the chat below…
On the intense work done during the tour in the USA…
Of course, it’s tough. The schedule is really good and really tough. We’re pretty much at it all day every day, so it’s just up to us as players to recover well and make sure we can go at it every morning.
On the changes he has picked up in Slot’s approach so far…
To be honest, he’s very similar to [Jürgen] Klopp in terms of similar ideas, but the style of play is a little bit different.
He is very demanding, he wants everything to be as close to perfect as possible. That’s good for us as players because it helps us get better. Even if we don’t like it at times, he’ll tell us what we don’t want to hear.
Regarding his goal of becoming as fit as possible for the next season… Without a doubt. I don’t think there could be a better way to prepare for the upcoming season than that, given how long my injury was.
I returned to the game at what may have been the physically hardest point of the year. Regarding whether he believes he has improved at Liverpool in the previous 12 months… Naturally, I think that’s the only way. Many of the boys, I think, could also say that.
It’s safe to assume that any player that has been around for as long as I have nearly doubled in skill. About attempting to “make up for lost time” after missing the entire season due to injury…
I wouldn’t say lost time, who knows if I would have played? Obviously in my mind I’d like to think that I would have. But I can’t look back at last season because it’s last season, I need to look at this season and just try to get as many appearances on the board as possible.
On the excitement for Saturday’s clash with Manchester United in front of a sold-out crowd in South Carolina…
Yeah, of course, but every game really excites me. The size of the crowd or the team doesn’t really change anything, football is football – it’s 22 people and a ball. I’m just excited to get back out there again and play against anyone, to be honest.
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