Watford boss Nigel Pearson says it would be a "tragedy" if Liverpool were denied Premier League title

Nigel Pearson

Watford manager Nigel Pearson believes it would be wrong if Liverpool were not awarded the Premier League if the season was cancelled.

English football has been suspended until April 4 at the earliest amid the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

There is mounting concern that the campaign may never be completed, with one report suggesting that the action might not restart until September.

It is unclear what would happen were the 2019/20 season to be declared null and void, but Pearson thinks it would be a "tragedy" if Liverpool were denied a first title since 1990.

The Reds are currently 25 points clear at the top of the table and require just two more wins to capture the crown.

“Well, the longer it goes on the more difficult it will be to conclude the season,” Pearson told the Guardian. “We have to keep this in perspective, of course, but for Liverpool it would be such a tragedy not to conclude the season.

“But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It could be that when we get to April, we may be able to resume and go into the summer months.

"How it looks for football pales – not into insignificance – but we need perspective on real-life issues. But, yes, purely on a football basis it’s going to throw up problems we’ve not experienced in this country before.”

Pearson is the only manager to have beaten Jurgen Klopp in the Premier League this season, having masterminded a shock 3-0 victory over the champions-elect last month.

The former Leicester boss has guided Watford out of the relegation zone since taking charge in December, and he believes his optimistic attitude has been behind the turnaround.

“Being positive. Giving direction. Simplifying. Encouraging people to look at what’s possible," he said when asked to explain his methods. 

"I get worn down by people telling you what you can’t do or what the problems are. Go on, give us a solution then. As I say to the players: ‘I pick you for what you can do, not what you can’t do.’ I make people feel part of a journey to which they can contribute.”

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Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football journalist who's filled in wherever FourFourTwo needs him since 2014. He became a Crystal Palace fan after watching a 1-0 loss to Port Vale in 1998, and once got on the scoresheet in a primary school game against Wilfried Zaha's Whitehorse Manor (an own goal in an 8-0 defeat).