James Milner is used to being the interviewee - but during Liverpool's trip to Hong Kong, the vice-captain decided to turn interviewer with Adam Lallana his subject in the hot seat.

The pair sat down at the team hotel in Asia to look ahead to the Reds' involvement in the forthcoming Premier League Asia Trophy, their pre-season preparations and campaign ahead in general.

And Milner didn't make light of his task, putting a series of probing questions to his teammate during the course of the eight-minute chat.

You can watch it for free below now, or read on for the full transcript...

Adam, thanks for taking the time out to have a chat with me. Welcome to Hong Kong – have you been here before, or been to Asia?

I’ve not been to Hong Kong before, but I’ve been to Asia with Liverpool. There is a tremendous fan base here. It’s been a bit of a mixed bag of weather so far, but I’m looking forward to training and seeing what that brings.

How was it for you last time you were in Asia?

Busy. Busy as always, meeting the new fans, which is always a great experience. Liverpool is a worldwide brand and has fans everywhere. It is nice to give back.

Just on the fans, do you find them different here to the fans back in England?

I think so, yeah. But Liverpool has fans all over the world and they’re all different in different aspects. Once again, it is nice to come to Asia and experience the fans in Hong Kong.

Obviously with the time difference, the fans in Asia get up in the middle of the night to watch our games, which is pretty amazing…

Yeah, the Premier League nowadays has an unbelievable following, so it doesn’t surprise me fans get up in the middle of the night, setting their alarms for whenever kick-off is. Kick-offs can be anytime in England, so obviously it’s the same in Hong Kong.

Why is the Premier League so popular over here? What draws the fans to it?

The amount of money that’s been spent in this transfer window just makes it even more exciting – there are probably six or seven teams that can win the Premier League. We had Leicester winning it a couple of seasons ago. I think this season is going to be one of the best seasons there has been to date. It just means there are even more people following football and wanting to watch it, if not live then on TV around the world.

This pre-season tournament isn’t just about the fans, though. The Premier League aims to support the development of football and it runs community and coaching events at all levels across the region. How important is that work off the field?

It’s huge. It’s huge that us as role models can give back to the community in every aspect and in as many ways as possible. Us coming out to play in this competition to play alongside some other Premier League teams is important in the growth of football worldwide.

Now you’ve been around a bit longer – this is ‘primetime Adam Lallana’, you’re in the peak of your career – what have been your best experiences on a pre-season tour as a player?

There are probably too many to pick out one; we’re fortunate enough to go around the world, different continents and gather experiences as footballers. I’m looking forward to staying here in Hong Kong, I’ve not been here before. I’m looking forward to the atmosphere and the tournament we’re going to play in.

Hong Kong is a 14-hour flight… Which teammate would you most like to have next to you on a plane journey and why?

[Laughs]

No pressure…

Jordan Henderson. I usually sit next to him. He’s been absent for the last few months of [last] season so James Milner took his slot and was brilliant while he was not there…

…but I’ve been moved swiftly out! I read somewhere you request rooms next to each other in the hotels. Is that true?

I think that was the case a couple of years ago, but I am not sure we are next door to each other on this trip.

How does a pre-season tour in a foreign country help the team with the weather and the bonding with being away?

It’s very good for the bonding aspect. It’s obviously very busy and our schedule is really busy for a couple of days on this tour, but in testing conditions it can bring you closer and make you stronger for the season. Pre-season is a test and is not meant to be easy – and it can bring the group together in hard times. When you’ve got a lot of fixtures over Christmas and tough games, that’s when you look to your mate to help each other out.

Onto the tournament; the first game will be the third game for the club with players having come back at different times. What sort of performance level do you expect from yourself and the team as well?

We’re expecting to build on our last two performances. Hopefully players will get more minutes and start to add to their fitness levels. You touched upon it, there are a lot of players coming back at different times – and we’re still waiting on Emre to come back, who has another couple of weeks off. I think by the end of this trip, we’ll all be looking to be at a good level and really start to kick on. I am sure the boss will want impeccable standards, as usual.

The first game of the tournament is against Crystal Palace – a fixture in the Premier League that normally provides goals, drama and sendings off, which I know about. Is it a tough first challenge?

Yeah, it is. We’ve got them in the second game of the season, so you can look at it both ways. It’s good to have a look at our opponents and they’ve probably been our bogey team at Anfield over the past couple of years. It’s going to be a difficult game, but I am looking forward to playing against them. They’ve got a couple of former [Liverpool] players as well, so we’ll have to keep an eye on them.

In pre-season you play games against teams from England – lower league and Premier League – and teams from different countries. Is there added spice or anything different when you play against a team you’ll come up against in the coming season?

I think there’s always going to be a bit of added spice against another team from the Premier League. It’s just a different tempo, playing against people that maybe you know. Premier League games always seem to be that bit quicker and that bit more physical, maybe. You always want big tests in pre-season because you want to be in the best shape possible come the first game of the season.

Moving on to last season, how would you sum it up?

It was good but could have been better. We started the season superbly, but hit some speed bumps midway through for one reason or another. But I feel we’ve learned from it and I am looking forward to this season. We’re a young squad; we’ve brought in two players and hopefully we can add a few more members to what is already a very good squad. Hopefully competition for places will be really high because we’re in Europe this year, so we’re going to have to combine four or five competitions, so it’s going to be a real test.

On that, finishing in the top four and getting into the Champions League – even though the job is not quite done yet – how exciting and how important is that to the club?

There was a bit of pressure on us towards the end of last season. All the other teams were winning, but it was in our own hands and I was always confident we were going to get over the line. You mentioned it – we’re not there yet and we’ve still got to win the qualifying game, which I am confident we will do, but it’s where Liverpool belongs. It’s a big football club and there are six or seven teams in the Premier League that would be expecting to be in the Champions League places, so it was a big success to finish in that top four – but we want to go even further this season and set our sights higher up the league.

Playing in the Champions League and having that qualifier quite early on in the season, does that change your approach in pre-season?

It’s a good point, I think so. You need to be as fit as you can as quickly as you can. This season, we’ve got four or five weeks to get fit. Last season was a little bit more rushed with the Euros and we had more players coming back a little bit later, so I am fully confident we will be up to scratch way before the first game of the season.

What are your expectations and hopes for this season, both for the club and for you personally as Adam Lallana?

To build on last season and always keep on improving. There is always room to get better no matter how old you are, or no matter how well you’ve played the season before. Competition for places is going to be even better and higher than last season, so no-one is guaranteed to play. As a club, as I mentioned earlier, it’s about time we won some silverware.

Very good. Thanks for your time and enjoy training!

Thanks, I will!