The Dutch defender believes more silverware is just what some of his teammates need to shine even brighter
Virgil van Dijk believes winning the Premier League could take some Liverpool players to the next level as he warned the club are desperate to carry good momentum into next season.
The Reds return to action on Sunday against Everton and need just two more wins to wrap up the league title after an almost perfect campaign.
Jurgen Klopp’s side have dropped just four points in the league this season and boast the best defence in the competition.
While Liverpool did win the Champions League last year, Van Dijk believes lifting the Premier League title is exactly what some players need to get even better.
“We have not won the title yet. We have not won anything yet. But the aim is to start next season in the same fashion,” Van Dijk was quoted as saying by the Daily Mail.
“We can be a team that can keep progressing. We have players who can progress and make big steps in their development. Winning the league would be a big experience that could take them to the next level.
“We can achieve that first and foremost this season and then we will see what can happen next season. If we win the title this season, we will try to retain it. That’s what we are aiming for but everyone knows how difficult it is to retain the title, especially in England and we are not there this season yet. We tried to retain our Champions League title and it wasn’t possible. It’s very difficult.
“We will try to focus on the nine games we have left but we hope to set the pace for the rest of next season with the title behind our name and defend the title as well.”
— Liverpool FC (at 🏠) (@LFC) June 20, 2020
The Reds looming triumph will be bitter sweet to some extent with no fans allowed to attend matches, but Van Dijk stressed they must accept the situation as he admitted he was unsure at one point whether the season would be completed.
“I know how long our fans have been waiting for this. But unfortunately it’s something we all have to deal with that they won’t be able to be there if it happens,” he said.
“We’ve seen clubs winning cups already in other countries and everybody is getting on with it. For me, winning the Premier League and lifting that trophy would be a dream come true. We were very close last year and we are very close this year, much closer than we were last year. We have nine games to go and we will try to win all of them. That’s our goal.
“The most important thing in life is health and we all had to deal with the suspension of the season and everyone had the feeling there would be a time when we finished the season.
“It was strange to stop so abruptly and being in the unknown. Not knowing when we will start again. Sometimes people were putting things in the media saying the league should be cancelled. You read these things because you have plenty of time to read when there is suddenly no football being played.
“I wasn’t worried but being left in the dark, not knowing what was going to happen, personally I hate that. You ask questions to certain people who know what is happening behind the scenes and it was pretty clear there was no option at all to cancel the league. So you try to make sure you stay fit, do all the right things and make sure you are even more ready than before when the league resumes.”
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