Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson struggled to put into words how it felt to end the club’s 30-year wait for a top-flight title after they were crowned Premier League champions on Thursday evening.
Manchester City’s defeat to Chelsea confirmed the Reds’ long wait was over as they sealed their 19th league title and first since the 1989/90 season – before the advent of the Premier League.
Henderson and the rest of the Liverpool squad gathered together to watch the Chelsea-City match on television and the midfielder readily admitted they will enjoy their historic moment.
However, Henderson, who joined Liverpool nine years ago, is adamant his side will not rest on their laurels for the last seven games as he has his sights on the highest points total in a Premier League campaign.
“It’s hard to describe, to be honest.” Henderson told Liverpool’s official website. “But after the final whistle it was just an amazing feeling, especially to spend it with all the lads and the staff.
“To finally get over the line is a relief but also an amazing feeling. It’s a unique feeling and one that I’m very proud of.
“I’ve been so honoured to be part of this football club right from the first moment that I came and to go on the journey to be with this manager, this group of players, these fans – it’s been so special.
“But we’ll enjoy this, we’ll celebrate, but then I know in the next few days they’ll be straight onto the next game, which is City, and finishing the season off as well as we can.
“We want to win every game and we want to finish off with the highest points record we can and give everything we’ve got and then we’ll go into next season and we’ll want even more.”
Liverpool are 23 points clear of closest challengers City, whose reign as Premier League champions came to an end, with 28 wins, two draws and only one defeat from their 31 matches
But despite their immense success this season, Henderson insists there was never a point where he thought Liverpool were home and hosed.
“There were numerous games where I felt there were big results and big performances in certain stages of the season,” he added.
“But at the same time I never got carried away after a win or a performance – it was literally ‘job done, let’s pick it up next game and go again and keep doing that until we get to this point’.
“You never know what is going to happen in football.”
Defender Trent Alexander-Arnold acknowledged the coronavirus pandemic and the absence of fans from stadiums has put a new spin on their title triumph but he is adamant it will not take away from their success.
He said: “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 of.
“It’s something we’ve always dreamed of. As fans I think it’s something that will always be remembered.”
Fellow full-back Andy Robertson gave an insight into the camp, hailing the squad unity and manager Jurgen Klopp as a father figure.
The Scot said: “As a squad we’re so close. 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.
“We’re all kind of brothers and we have a dad figure in the gaffer 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.”
Midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum added: “It’s difficult to describe but I can say that I’m really happy and really pleased that I can be a part of this team, be a part of this club.”
