Brendan: We can't wait to see you

The manager thoroughly enjoyed last season's trip to North America, and he is hoping for an even more productive pre-season this time around.

He sat down with LFC TV earlier this week to preview the visit to Indonesia, Australia and Thailand - and here's what Rodgers had to say...

You're about to embark on your first visit to Asia with Liverpool and the club's first ever visit to Australia. How excited are you?

We're all very excited. It's a part of the world where there's a huge support base for Liverpool. So it's brilliant that we can take the club and the team there to meet lots of our supporters. I'm particularly looking forward to it. It's the first time I've been to that part of the world. So I think we're all excited. We're obviously looking forward to getting some good work in as well.

Have you heard stories from other members of staff who have been on previous tours about the level of support over in Asia?

Yes. A number of players and some of the staff have been out there before. I think for our new players it's going to be a great experience, because I think you truly understand how big the football club is whenever you go on these tours, Last year, when we went to America, the support was incredible. There were almost 5,000 people watching training. And I'm led to believe there's an even bigger group of supporters out [in Asia]. It's a great privilege to be the manager and take the club there. We're all really looking forward to it.

Wherever you're travelling with Liverpool FC, whether it be Europe or Asia or the States, the level of support is incredible. How does it make you feel knowing you are the manager of this great institution?

I've said it before, and I think there are a number of feelings, but pride is the biggest factor when it comes to being the manager of such a worldwide institution in the game. We saw it at the weekend when we played at Preston - there was a packed stadium [in a friendly]. Some of our Spanish players couldn't believe the level of support we had away from home.  Normally Spanish teams are drawing 200/300 supporters when they play away, but our end was packed out and it was a brilliant atmosphere. It was also broadcast on TV worldwide as well - and that was only for our first friendly. It makes you feel very proud and obviously it gives you that extra bit of motivation and commitment. You know the responsibility that you have as the manager here of the club [is a huge one] - and that's something I take great pride in.

The players and the staff will be living in each other's pockets for two weeks. What does a trip do for team spirit?

Some clubs will come back for pre-season and then they'll go away straight away [on tour]. But I felt it was important, especially with the amount of travelling that we are doing, that we built a real good fitness base here [back home], because that is the main objective in pre-season - to get your football fitness. The players have worked extremely hard in this opening period and they looked sharp in the game on Saturday, considering it is still early days in pre-season. So we go into the next phase now, which is travelling and playing three games while we are away, and we get the chance to come away from Liverpool and go into a different environment. And that always gives players the opportunity to bond with their teammates and you always find out something new about players when you go away, and it's normally positive. So that's the part I'm looking forward to.

It's a big learning curve for the younger members in the squad isn't it?

Very much so. I think [that's the case] for the likes of young Jordon Ibe and Raheem Sterling, who both scored at the weekend. I think for Raheem it was a big learning curve, if you remember his trip last year and all the stuff that surrounded him. But he drew strength from that and he ended up having a terrific season. So I hope that it's a great experience for the young players. They will see what it's like and the responsibility that goes with being a player here at Liverpool when they see the amount of supporters who are there. And it's all a part of your job here as an ambassador for the football club.

It's a very hectic schedule - there's a lot of commercial activity and there's a lot of Liverpool FC Foundation activities as well. How do you balance that against the task of getting yourselves ready for the season?

I've got a really good relationship with the commercial people here at the club. They understand my thoughts - and the priority, first and foremost for us, is our training and our work. We need to ensure that, come the first game of the season, we're in tip-top shape and that the condition of the players is at the forefront of anything. All the events and all the activities have been built around that. So in terms of the actual planning and organisation, it's all been taken care of - Billy Hogan and his team have done a great job, in terms of fitting those activities in around the football. And myself as manager, the players and the staff understand the responsibilities that we have as part of one of the great institutions in the world. And we're more than happy to carry out that duty.

What are you hoping to get out of the three fixtures that you will play on tour?

I think firstly it's to develop fitness. The players played 45 minutes against Preston at the weekend. And they'll step it up over the course of the next three games - to 60, 75 and some will be playing 90 minutes. It means we'll be in a better starting point compared to where we were last summer. It was really new to the players what we were trying to do and I think we've seen a really good base in this early part of pre-season - and that's been carried on from last year. Now we're really looking to add to that. It's important for me that there are players who can participate tactically in the game should I need to change things. And in pre-season you really get the opportunity to work on those elements. So that's something that we'll look to take out of the trip, as well as the fitness aspect over the three games.

Is there anything from the tour last year that you would change this time around? 

Not really. I thought it was a fantastic trip last year. I really enjoyed our base in Boston and being able to travel about. Our experience with the supporters was great and training the players worked really well. The only item was that the players came out [to America] in small groups. We had a very young group that went out first, and then those guys who were at Euro 2012 came out later. So that was the only frustration in it all. This year we've got the core of the group here from day one, which is brilliant. Some of the new signings have come in and added to the squad and we'll have some of the guys rejoining us while we are out on tour. So it's a very hectic time, a very busy time, but I'm really looking forward to it.