The ex-England goalkeeper believes his old club can finally end their long wait for a league title in 2020, after learning a painful lesson last term
Liverpool will have a better chance of winning the Premier League this season, having “come so close” last time around, according to Ray Clemence.
Jurgen Klopp’s men finished a single point behind champions Manchester City in 2018-19, after a thrilling title race which went right down to last day of the campaign.
The Reds achieved a record points haul of 97, which was 22 more than they managed to amass the previous year, with many fans and experts suggesting they were unlucky not to lift the elusive trophy.
A sixth European Cup softened the blow of yet another Premier League failure, but Klopp has his sights set on more success in the coming years .
Liverpool legend Clemence, who won five league titles for the club during the 1970s, feels the current squad will have gained invaluable confidence from their domestic exploits last term.
“It helps, having got so close,” he told Sky Sports . “If you look back three or four years, they were finishing 20 points off the league champions.
“Now they’ve got 97 points, lost one game all year, and it still hasn’t been good enough. In any other league, that would win you the title.
“But they’ve got the confidence from knowing they can compete with Manchester City, and next year they need to make sure some of the points they dropped in draws, which they shouldn’t have, they win. That’s been the difference.
“There will be games where you’re going to struggle, and it’s finding a way to avoid losing that game, or nicking a tight win. That’s what Liverpool have started to do; that’s what they did in the Champions League final; they didn’t play particularly well after the penalty, but they found a way to win.”
The Reds open their 2019-20 season against newly-promoted Norwich at Anfield on August 9, five days after a Community Shield date with City.
The European champions also have a UEFA Super Cup clash against Chelsea to look forward to on August 14 , which is being held at Vodka Park in Istanbul.
Clemence went on to warn Liverpool that they will have a target on their backs across all competitions after their Champions League success back in June.
“It does one of two things – from the team’s point of view, you feel more confident because you’ve won a trophy and you know how to win a trophy,” he added.
“But also you have to realise that in the following season, everyone is after your head. You are the European champions. Whether that’s in the Premier League or Europe, every other team will want to beat you.
“It’s been a long time without a trophy for Liverpool. The Premier League is still eluding them at the moment, but winning the Champions League will give everyone belief around the club, be it players, fans, coaches.
“Having that monkey off their back of winning something, that should give them a big belief for next year.
“You have to expect the challenges will be greater next year, but at the back of your mind you’ve proved to yourselves you can win things and you just need to maintain that strong belief in how you won it, and continue to do it knowing that winning anything back-to-back is even more difficult.”
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