Liverpool midfielder Joe Allen has revealed that confidence in the Reds dressing room is still high ahead of the coming Premier League season.

The Wales international admitted that coming so close to topping the table last year hurt his teammates, but insists that it will stand them in good stead going forward.

Initially it was hard to take, but there were so many positives to take," Allen is quoted as saying by the Liverpool Echo.

"When you come that close, you do get a taste of what it could be like. It is an incentive to try and go that one step further.

"The belief and confidence is right up there still, and that run we had at the end of last season, we are looking to kick off the new season in the same kind of form."

Liverpool begin their season on August 17 when they host Southampton in the Premier League.