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Liverpool get their pre-season schedule under way on Sunday as they face Preston North End at Deepdale.

While the first match of the summer is often a time of excitement and intrigue, at Liverpool the feeling could not be more different this year.

Supporters do have reason to be excited for pre-season, but with the club still in mourning after the passing of Diogo Jota, it has been impossible for anyone to really think about the football.

Jota is set to be honoured ahead of the game against Preston, and with Liverpool already retiring his No.

20 shirt, the Portuguese has had tributes pouring in since his tragic death on July 3rd.

The pre-match displays will undoubtedly be tough for Liverpool players to endure as they continue to come to terms with the loss of a much-loved teammate.

And as he attempts to gear them up to get through the game, Arne Slot has explained how he has drawn on Jota’s character to try and rally the troops.

Photo by MIGUEL MEDINA/AFP via Getty Images

Sunday’s game is a necessary hurdle for Liverpool players to overcome, but it will not be an easy one.

Nevertheless, they do have a season to prepare for, and the sooner they get back out onto the pitch, the quicker they face every heart-breaking first without Jota.

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Slot, to his eternal credit, has handled the sudden and tragic death of one of his players with the class and respect we have come to expect from him.

And speaking to Liverpoolfc.com, he explained what he has told the rest of the Liverpool squad ahead of Sunday’s difficult moment.

READ MORE: All eight Liverpool number 20s before Diogo Jota as Reds choose to retire iconic shirt

“Nothing seems to be important if we think of what has happened,” Slot said.

“But we are a football club and we need to train and we need to play again, if we want it or not.

Can we train again?

“If they want to train they can train, if they don’t want to train they can not train.

But be yourself, don’t think you have to be different than your emotions tell you.”

As well as speaking poignantly about how his squad will attempt to move forward following the loss of Jota, Slot also touched on what he will remember most about the 28-year-old.

“I’ve only worked with him for a season and in that season he has been so important for me, for the club, for the fans, for his teammates in difficult moments,” he said.