Henderson: Why Hong Kong stay has been good for Liverpool

   publish 23-07-2017

Henderson expects Liverpool to reap the benefits of their trip to Hong Kong during the remainder of pre-season and beyond.

Jürgen Klopp's men were forced to contend with incredibly humid conditions during a week-long stay punctuated by regular training sessions and two friendly fixtues.



But Henderson believes he and his teammates will feel even fitter when they return to European climes as a result of their exertions in the Far East.

"It's difficult conditions, very humid, but it's good for us because it's pre-season and we've got to get fit," he told Liverpoolfc.com.

"We'll benefit from that when we go back home. It'll give us that bit of confidence with how hard we've worked here in these conditions.

"We go back home happy, but [there's] still a lot of hard work to do."

Liverpool brought the curtain down on their time in Hong Kong by beating Leicester City in the Premier League Asia Trophy final on Saturday.

Success against Craig Shakespeare's team and a semi-final win over Crystal Palace have served as ideal preparation for the challenges ahead, according to the captain.

"It's a good start to pre-season; tough games against two good teams, two difficult teams to play against," he added.

"Overall, we're pleased with the performances. Of course there's still things we need to improve on over the next few weeks, but we go home happy with what we've done here."

Henderson also waxed lyrical about the forward options at Klopp's disposal after the Foxes' backline was run ragged during yesterday's contest.

"I thought the lads were brilliant in the first half, [we were] very attacking. [We scored] two great goals through Mo [Salah] and Phil [Coutinho]," he continued.

"We've got a big squad, a lot of good players, so it's difficult for the manager to choose a first XI."