Virgil van Dijk is confident Liverpool will be ready for Manchester City on Sunday – and has calmed fears by declaring the current squad can reach even greater heights.
Jurgen Klopp's side will aim to secure the first silverware of the new season when they take on the Premier League champions at Wembley in the Community Shield.
Liverpool have endured a difficult pre-season, losing three of their last four games while missing a host of first-team regulars.
All bar Sadio Mane will be available for the weekend, before which the Reds play their final friendly against Lyon in Geneva on Wednesday.
And Van Dijk believes that in City the European champions have the perfect opposition to start the campaign.
“Exactly,” said the centre-back. “We have to be at our top level.
“If we play like we did against Napoli on Sunday, we won’t win the Community Shield, it’s as simple as that.
“But we have a good week to prepare ourselves with a friendly as well, which is good for the boys who are coming back. We will definitely be ready for City.”
Liverpool were poor when losing 3-0 to Napoli in Murrayfield on Sunday, a performance which prompted further debate over whether the Reds should strengthen their squad ahead of next Thursday's transfer deadline.
Van Dijk, though, retains confidence in the current squad.
“There’s plenty more to come from the team,” he said.
“At times against Napoli we showed promising football as well, and there’s a reason why we are European champions.
“We have to stay calm, we want to win games, but Napoli were just a little bit better.
“It was quite sloppy at times, but there’s no concerns from my point of view. As I say, our season starts properly next Sunday, so our focus will be on that.”
Van Dijk was involved in a heated exchange with Klopp shortly after Lorenzo Insigne had capitalised on some disappointing Liverpool defending to curl Napoli into a first-half lead.
“Just things... between me and him,” said Van Dijk, who when asked to elaborate responded: “It’s not necessary. I think everyone has to communicate with each other.
“Sometimes you have to tell someone the truth, that’s how it is.”
Explaining Liverpool's indifferent pre-season showings, Van Dijk added: “We travelled a lot. We travelled to America, we had a hard training camp over there.
“Obviously we want to improve, and the only way to do that is to play games and play better than we did against Napoli.
“Everyone knows the players who are missing are important players for us. That’s a fact. But we have to deal with it in this situation.”
Liverpool are now in Evian for a week-long training camp, Van Dijk part of a 29-man squad that includes returning quintet Alisson Becker, Roberto Firmino, Mohamed Salah, Xherdan Shaqiri and Naby Keita.
“The training camp will definitely be important,” said the Holland international.
“I remember last year we had a very tough camp over there.
“There was a lot of hard work and also a lot of tactical work as well. I expect a little bit of the same.
“Obviously our season starts properly on Sunday, so this week will make sure our heads are together and focus on City.”
