Liverpool defender Andy Robertson has insisted that the lack of summer transfers should not stop the Reds from progressing under Arne Slot this season.
There is still time for sporting director Richard Hughes to get a deal or two over the line before August 30 but Liverpool is the only team in the top flight yet to make a signing in this transfer window. Robertson, though, is entirely unconcerned.
"I think we have an unbelievably strong squad," he told reporters, including Liverpool.com , inside Portman Road following the Reds' 2-0 win on Saturday. "You look at the bench today and even the lads who maybe didn't travel, we have a fantastic squad and the quality was shown a lot in the second half."
Joe Gomez was not involved in the matchday squad and The Times has reported that he is considering his options amid transfer interest from a number of clubs. He would like more regular minutes and wasn't even in the matchday squad here.
"Certain positions are spoken about and things like that but I thought people were really good and stepped up to the plate," Robertson continued. "We have a lot of quality in every position and if that is the squad that we go forward with then I believe that is good enough to compete in the competitions we want to compete in.
"Everyone wants new signings — fans want new signings, people want new faces around the building — but I think the squad we have got just now is incredibly strong and if we don't make any signings, we're in a good shape to crack on for the rest of the season."
Inevitably, some on the outside have questioned whether there might be a drop-off post- Jurgen Klopp at Anfield. But asked about that, Robertson was of the opinion that it doesn't matter.
"That's just football," he replied. "We've been in the game long enough now that we know people want you replaced and people want new signings. People want younger faces after seeing a good 15 minutes in one game or whatever — that's the way football is.
"That's the industry that we're in. We just try and block that out. We know the quality that we have got and it is about showing that on a weekly basis. If you don't show that, of course the club would look to replace.
"It's up to us to perform on the pitch and I think so far, so good in pre-season and today but it is up to us to show that over a longer period of time. If we do that, we'll hopefully show everybody the quality that we have got."
Liverpool was much improved in the second half but struggled with the intensity of the Ipswich team — buoyed by an excited home crowd — in the first 45 minutes. Arne Slot , Robertson explained, made some tweaks.
"We needed to start winning more duels, controlling the ball a bit better, and playing our game, and I think we did that," he said. "It's never easy when you're playing the opening game of the season and they are back in the Premier League for the first time in a long time.
"First half, we could have done a few things better but we didn't lose too many key chances or anything like that, and second half, we controlled and thankfully the goals came too.
"[Slot] wasn't happy but we knew that as well. We weren't happy with our performance and he wasn't as well. He tried to help us to see how we could maybe be a bit better on the ball and maybe get a bit closer to the ball when they had it.
"But like I said, it's the Premier League and it's incredibly tough. They were on it and they had their fans behind them and we maybe didn't react to that as well as we possibly could but second half we did and before a ball was kicked, the aim today was to win the game and to keep a clean sheet.
"He can raise his voice and tell you he isn't happy but we're trying to get solutions of how we can do it better, with clips and things like that. What we said at half-time will stay in there, of course, and you've seen a huge improvement second half and that's why we ended up getting the result.
"It's not going to be perfect from day one but we're trying to implement what he wants from us. We're all listening and there's a lot of team meetings and individual meetings, just trying to be the best version of ourselves."
Now, Liverpool has a full week of training before hosting Brentford at Anfield next weekend. That will be a rarity this season with the expanded Champions League format and the domestic cups to contend with too.
"Training is really intense under [Slot] so we learn a lot but also it's never the same in matches," Robertson said. "You've got fans there, you've got more pressure — so playing games helps you massively.
"The next couple of weeks are crucial because we go week to week which is quite rare. When we come back after internationals, the Champions League will start again.
"The next couple of weeks are really crucial to get some time on the training pitch and try and take that into the games. Then hopefully when we're after the international break when we're a game every three days, we're in the best possible shape."
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