Philippe Coutinho arrived back at Melwood on Tuesday morning fuelled with confidence and optimism that Liverpool will enjoy a successful 2017-18 campaign.

The Brazil forward returned to Merseyside to begin pre-season training having been afforded an extended break due to his international commitments over the summer.

He was joined by Adam Lallana, with the pair taking part in fitness assessments ahead of rejoining the main group later this week.

“I am very happy to be back here and I am ready to start pre-season,” Coutinho told Liverpoolfc.com.

“I had a very good summer with my family and friends in Brazil and had enough time to rest and enjoy it. To be honest, it was not that hot there… but still a little bit warmer than here!

“But it was nice to come back in and see my teammates here today. I am not training with them yet, but soon I will be back with them and I am looking forward to that.”

On a personal note, Coutinho is aiming to better his performance levels of last term, which yielded a career-best 14 goals in all competitions to finish as Liverpool’s top scorer.

“I am working; every day I try to improve and I hope this season I can do even better than the last season,” he continued. “I am always aiming to improve.

“It was a good season. Of course, we wanted to win something, but we are ready here to start again to do everything to have a better season.

“Everyone has big confidence and this is the key for the players. I am confident – I think everyone is.”