"The more important thing is if we can figure out a way to get these matches played because I think it would be good for the country"
Friday 22 May 2020 15:10, UK
Liverpool chairman Tom Werner feels it would be "good for the country" to complete the Premier League season.
The Reds squad returned to training at Melwood on Wednesday after a two-month hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, with the players working in small groups and following social distancing guidelines prior to the resumption of contact training.
The return to training is especially significant for Jurgen Klopp's side, who are 25 points clear at the top of the table, needing just two wins from their remaining nine games to clinch the Premier League title.
Their chairman Werner wants to see the season completed but accepts safety - and the discovery of a vaccine - is a key priority as the pandemic continues.
"The more important thing is if we can figure out a way to get these matches played because I think it would be good for the country," he said.
"The most important thing is safety. I do think the protocols that the Premier League are working on as somebody said its probably safer to play behind closed doors than to go to a supermarket.
"It's a terrible situation we're all in. Someday, hopefully, there will be a vaccine and we can return to the joy of being in a stadium and watching the elegant play of great football players."
In the first two weeks of the lockdown, Liverpool decided to place some non-playing staff on a government furloughing scheme to cut costs but reversed that decision after backlash from their fans.
The club has also maintained funding for community work, from supporting fans challenged by mental health issues to providing supplies for food banks.
"It's better to admit to a mistake than to dig your heels in," said Werner. "Hopefully people will know that all we really care about is trying to support the fans and support our players and our club in a way that is sustainable."
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson has challenged the Reds to "pick up where they left off" when the Premier League season resumes.
The footballing authorities are yet to reach an agreement on the exact date of the Premier League's behind-closed-doors return, but Henderson insists he and his team-mates have kept themselves sharp during lockdown with a view to picking up where they left off before the interruption.
"To be honest, my mindset hasn't changed from where we left off because I always felt as though the season needed finishing at some point, whenever it was safe to do so," Henderson - speaking to Sky Sports' Patrick Davison - said.
"So, in my head, it's always been [important] to stay as fit as I can because when the time comes that we do go back and we do start playing games, I need to be ready and so do my team-mates.
"We all need to be ready for when that time comes to be able to perform at the highest level and finish the season as well as we've started it and maintained it up until this point.
"That's been our motivation to keep training and keep as fit as possible, so when the time comes, we pick up where we left off."
On a return to training he said: "It's been great to get back and see the lads, get the balls out and be able to pass into each other and interact a little bit
"Football is taken away from you and it's obviously difficult because at the end of the day it's the most important thing to us. "But then something like this happens and it puts everything in perspective."
Klopp has insisted Liverpool will do everything in their power to prepare for a resumption of competition, despite the challenges.
"We have to be as creative as possible at the moment because pre-season usually starts differently.
"First and foremost, when you have a pre-season you know when the seasons starts. We don't know that at the moment, so that is of course different, and also we are not allowed to do a couple of things that we would usually do in the first few sessions.
"We just needed to start because we prepare a body for physical work. We can't start today and then start playing tomorrow. That doesn't work. We need time to get match fit and that's what we are doing at the moment."
"We will be in the best possible shape we can be. You know from pre-seasons, managers usually say, 'We don't know where exactly we stand at this moment, we need maybe one, two, three or four games to know more about our situation'.
"But now, the challenge is that we all have to be ready for the first game, whenever it will be. That's interesting. Our game is, for different reasons, always different.
"You never have the same game again. You never have the same situation again. Everything can be perfect for a second, then you have injured players and you have to adapt to that.
"Now it's a situation we don't know. None of us know when we will start. The earlier they can tell us, the better it is, of course.
"But for all the teams, it's the same, and that's what makes a competition. If all the teams have the same circumstances, then you have a proper competition. That's what we are preparing for."
