Liverpool’s new striker Danny Ings has explained why he made an early return from his end-of-season holiday.
After the conclusion of last season, in which his former team Burnley got relegated, Ings set off to Czech Republic to compete in the European Championships with England Under-21s.
After England’s elimination, the 22-year-old was entitled to a three week break before reporting for duty but the new number 28 returned to pre-season training a week earlier.
He joined his new teammates on Wednesday and told LFCTour.com:
“I was given the option to obviously have a little bit of extra time because I only had two weeks because of the Under-21 tournament and stuff.
“But I thought it was really important that I got in, met all the lads, met all the staff and settled in, because if you meet them after the tour, you haven’t got that pre-season when you are gelling with the team and with the staff.
“For me, it was important that I got in early, got to meet everyone, got all of the fitness stuff sorted and get my head down and work hard from now. I was just so excited to get in and get started.
“I don’t think I have ever been as excited in my career, to be fair. It has been a tough journey to get to this stage, coming from the Conference South to in four years be sat in front of you guys.
“It is definitely an opportunity to see what it is like to be at such a massive club and see the fanbase in different countries and to enjoy the moment.”
The Reds leave for their tour of the Far East and Australia on Sunday and Ings is eager to sample the atmosphere that awaits them.
In a bid to ready himself, Ings admitted to watching video clips of previous tours and was awe-struck when ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ was sung by 95,000 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in 2013.
He added: “I’ve heard how extreme it can be out there. Around your hotels, when you get off the planes and at the stadiums, how full they are, and the atmosphere.
“You only have to search on YouTube to see what it is like. To be a part of that will be massive for me and it’s definitely an experience I can’t wait for.
“I think the YouTube video that I watched was actually in Australia. When they were singing ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’, it just gives you goosebumps.
“To be a part of that is going to be massive for me. It is going to be huge for my development as a player to handle the fanbase around the world, to play in front of them and to perform at the top level.
“The fact that you’ve got thousands and thousands of fans watching you is what we thrive off as players. It’s why we do it. I’m sure the lads will definitely enjoy it and I am definitely looking forward to it.”
Liverpool play their first match of the pre-season against Thai All Stars on Tuesday July 14.
