Liverpool are giving their first-team squad as much time off as possible this summer in preparation for their attempt to regain the Premier League title.
The Reds, who secured Champions League qualification by sealing third place on the final day of the campaign last Sunday, will begin their pre-season programme when the players report back for training on Monday, July 12.
While the likes of Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip are expected to utilise the club's training complex at Kirkby to continue their rehabilitation from injury, those not in international competition this summer will be given up to six weeks off.
It is in stark contrast to last year, when there were only five weeks between Liverpool's final game of the delayed 2019/20 season and the Community Shield against Arsenal at the beginning of the condensed 2020/21 campaign.
With the new Premier League season starting on August 14, the Reds will have almost five weeks to prepare with their warm-up fixture schedule yet to be finalised.
Although Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah are likely to feature for Senegal and Egypt respectively in friendlies at the start of next month, with no Africa Cup of Nations this summer the duo will have an extended summer break for the first time since 2017.
And any Liverpool players involved in the European Championships and Copa America tournaments - which will both conclude on July 11, the day before the Reds return to Kirkby - will be given a period of several weeks' holiday dependent on when their participation in the competition is concluded.
“The off time will be important; it really feels as if we had two seasons just non-stop, so we will give everyone maximum time off to regain freshness," said Liverpool assistant manager Pep Lijnders.
“Some big players are working hard and coming back. They will come with leadership and with dedication. I can’t wait for that - and I’m not the only one.
“Now we can look forward, we deserve to be in the Champions League, we earned this right.
"We just have to believe how good we are and believe that with a full Anfield we can be on fire in the Premier League again next season."
Lijnders believes Liverpool's remarkable run of 26 points from 30 in their last 10 games is evidence the team have rediscovered the mentality that saw them sweep up silverware in the previous two seasons.
And asked by liverpoolfc.com if he was proud of snatching a Champions League berth, he said: “If you’d asked us on the first day of the season, the answer would be of course not, but if you ask me now it feels we became a champion with the way we finished the season.
“The reason for that is because the pressure we had in the last 10 games was immense, but we showed a champions’ heart and character. And the conclusion? Our journey is not ending.
“We were not perfect, but we were in our best way possible. With this we found consistency, with this we found a team again - a team who developed courage.
"Over the last weeks the boys created the mentality to see the next game as a final, just like in our good days. That’s the thing I’m most proud of, the courage we played with.
"We learned that we shouldn’t worry too much about things we just can’t control. The only thing what is important is the next game."
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