Dejan Lovren has conceded he struggled during the uncertainty of the Premier League‘s return, but has lauded the “togetherness” of the team for navigating the unknown.
After 78 days of uncertainty after the Premier League announced all fixtures were to be suspended on March 13, the English top-flight gave the go-ahead for action to resume on June 17.
The Reds are to kickstart their push to the title against Everton on June 21, but while training has only resumed in the last three weeks, Jurgen Klopp‘s men have had a one-track mind.
To secure the title and cross the finish line in style.
However, it is has not been without mental obstacles to overcome – but for Liverpool’s No. 6, the “togetherness” and commitment to remain ready at all times has epitomised what this Liverpool team stands for and the success they want to achieve in both the present and the future.
“The last two weeks before we came back together, to be honest, I was a little bit struggling with not knowing when we will start and when we will be back together,” Lovren told the club’s official website.
“You put so many questions in your mind, ‘When will everything be back to normal?’
“But this is a great challenge for yourself and to show to everyone that you care about yourself, you care about your team.
“So we did it and we did an amazing job. We came back in a great shape. We did some physical tests and I think it says a lot about the team.
“Everyone respected all the planning and programmes that we got. And this is what’s important for this team.
“It’s about togetherness and we did it. There’s still a lot of time in front of us.
“But we have in our cars our boots, our towels, our balls there, equipment – it’s like a little gym in our car. But it is what it is and we accepted it. So you come home, you take a shower, that’s it.
“We play football, it’s not about the other things. We care about playing and winning.”
Throughout the enforced break, a number of Reds have been firm in their view that there is still no time to take their foot off the pedal, even when the title is officially secured.
An insatiable appetite for victories which propelled Liverpool to the position they are currently in, one which Klopp’s men hope to make an emphatic one once the 38-game campaign comes to a close.
“To be honest, even without a date at the beginning, our main focus and goal was, ‘Guys, let’s finish the season. There will, of course, be a date back, but just stay in shape, be in shape when we come back. We will do it and then we can say well done’,” Lovren explained.
“That was our main focus from the beginning. All the time we have been working in the gym, we know what is our focus.
“Of course we still have two games [to win until] we can say, ‘Yeah, we are the champions’ but our main focus is to win all the games. That’s the main target.”
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