Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits null and void Premier League season would’ve been tough to take
Scrapping the campaign would have been difficult to stomach for Liverpool, on the verge of ending a 30-year wait to be champions
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Your support makes all the difference.Jurgen Klopp admitted the short-lived notion of the Premier League season being voided affected him physically, with relief following when that was taken off the table under Project Restart.
Liverpool were 25 points clear at the summit when coronavirus forced the suspension of elite football in England for 96 days.
That three-month period was largely coloured with uncertainty, with some clubs at the opposite end of the table pushing the solution of entirely scrapping the campaign.
That was a difficult possible scenario to stomach for the Merseysiders, on the verge of ending a 30-year wait to be league champions.
When asked if he was worried about not having the chance to clinch the title during his first pre-match conference of the restart, Klopp said: “Honestly yes. I didn't think when we went to lockdown 'Oh my god, that is our season, we are so close', because it was not important in that moment.
“I became worried when people started talking about 'null and void' this season because I was like 'wow'. And I really felt it physically. That would have been really, really hard.
“We don't expect to get it as a present so we didn't want to have a points-per-game basis so we were really happy when it was decided we could play again.
“There were moments when some people brought it up [voiding 2019-20] from time to time for different reasons, but when it was off the table I felt quite relieved.
“If they had done points per game and we couldn't have played then we would have been champions, but now we aren't and we have to play for it and that is great, that is how it should be in sports. And now we go for it.
“We don't think in our mind we are already there. We know the situation in the table, we saw Manchester City playing, we see all the other teams.
“We needed a lot of work to come around to where we are this season, but we needed luck as well and that's what we need again.
“It will be tough, tougher than tough, the next few weeks. I hope I can enjoy it as hard work is never a problem for us, but we need to make sure we can play the best football we can play.
“But we will be fine and we will see what we have to celebrate and how we celebrate but these things are only important in the moment when it has finally happened and not before.”
Liverpool resume their march towards the title with a Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on Sunday.
Klopp revealed that while Alisson, Mohamed Salah and Andy Robertson had niggles, they are in contention against Everton.
“They look all good,” he said. “We had, of course, during the training period some little problems, that’s completely normal how we always have it.
“But none of them is ruled out for Sunday, I can say.
"I expect Everton to be in very good shape. It will be tough, but rightly so, it is the Premier League.”
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