Jurgen Klopp's focus is on ensuring his talented Liverpool squad deliver on their potential after extensive spending in the transfer market.
Liverpool's close-season outlay was greater than any of their Premier League rivals, adding Alisson, Fabinho, Naby Keita and Xherdan Shaqiri to a team that reached the Champions League final last term.
And setting aside talk of his expectations and the strength of the group, Klopp acknowledged only results will matter when the season starts against West Ham on Sunday.
"My own expectations are always pretty high, to make the best of it, get everything out of it," Klopp told a pre-match news conference. "These are my expectations all the time.
"For us, it's pretty normal that there would always be one point where we spent a bit more money. The last few years I have sat here defending our 'transfer behaviour', that we sold more than we brought in.
"It all made sense. We had to create a squad that is strong enough and wide enough to cope with the Premier League, to be as successful as possible. Step by step we come closer.
"People ask me if it's the best squad I ever had or whatever. I don't think about that, because it's not about what we have now.
"It's about what we make of it, how often we deliver, how often we bring ourselves in a mood to fight against all these Premier League teams that want to have our points. We have to be ready to fight."
Klopp: “We will try to reach the highest, that’s always my expectations. It’s not about what we have now, it’s about what we make of it and how often we deliver. We have to be ready to fight.” August 10, 2018
With players still recovering after the World Cup, Klopp will not yet be able to call on a full-strength squad - Dejan Lovren will be absent and Fabinho is a doubt due to illness - but he is confident Liverpool are ready for the match at Anfield.
"We will see. They're all in a different shape," he said. "Trent [Alexander-Arnold] has been a bit longer, Hendo's [Jordan Henderson] in and full of power but only three or four days, Dejan will not be available.
"[Fabinho's] scan was clear, he felt ill when he came back, so we sent him home again. We will see.
"That's how it is. We have little things we have to think about, if it's a risk or not, if we take the risk or not. At the end, I believe we will have a fantastic football team on the pitch. I have to make a few decisions."
‘Managing Leeds? It was an option that appeared, but it wasn’t the right timing. I decided it wasn’t a good idea to leave the club I was at mid-season’: Premier League boss admits to turning down opportunity to replace Jesse Marsch in 2023
‘Ruben Amorim could have waited for Real Madrid and had a better chance to be successful – to have joined Manchester United, he must be convinced in his own ability’ Former Old Trafford coach’s verdict on new boss
