London (AFP) – Liverpool defender Andy Robertson has hailed Jurgen Klopp as a father figure, saying the players “love coming into training” after the Reds ended their 30-year wait to be crowned champions of England again.
The Merseysiders won the Premier League title without kicking a ball on Thursday when Manchester City’s defeat by Chelsea left them an unassailable 23 points clear at the top.
It was Liverpool’s 19th English championship, with their last coming in the 1989/90 season — before the Premier League era.
Robertson said German boss Klopp deserved much of the credit for building a family atmosphere among the current generation of Anfield stars.
“As a squad we’re so close,” he said. “We love coming in to training every single day.
“If somebody is having a bad game, we dig them out of a hole and we stick together on the pitch, we stick together off the pitch — that’s why this squad is so special. I love being a part of it.”
The Scotland international added: “We’re all kind of brothers and we have a dad figure in the gaffer (Klopp) and he’s the one that leads us in the right direction. This season they’ve been excellent to keep us going, keep us hungry, keep us motivated.”
Fellow full-back Trent Alexander-Arnold said the absence of fans since the resumption of the league following the COVID-19 shutdown would not devalue the team’s success.
“Obviously things are not as we imagined probably a few months ago or even a year ago how we imagined to win the Premier League, but we are not going to complain and make a fuss,” he said.
“It’s something we’ve always dreamed of. As fans I think it’s something that will always be remembered.”
