"I really can't remember the last time I went through a proper pre-season," said Fowler.
"It's been really hard work since we came back, but hopefully we're all going to get the benefits from it when the season starts.
"I think you could see from the game on Saturday the training is taking a lot out of us. That's not an excuse for the performance, but everyone's working hard every day and it really isn't about the results now, but getting fit.
"Obviously we've all got to have pride in our performance whenever we play for Liverpool, but you can't really judge anything from these games. They're more like organised training sessions.
"You can tell that by the way I was allowed to come back on the pitch after being subbed at the weekend. That was definitely a first in my career. It was just a shame because I picked up a bit of knock on my knee when I went back on."