Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk admits he “didn’t even watch football” during the holidays and has paid little heed to the results of his Premier League title opponents.

Following their Boxing Day victory over Burnley, the Reds had five days off before hosting Newcastle United at Anfield on Monday.

Manchester City won twice in that five-day period, once at Everton and once at home to Sheffield United, while Arsenal lost to West Ham United and also traveled to Fulham on Sunday.

When asked if he was paying attention to their opponents during this period, Van Dijk replied, “Not at all.” I didn’t even bother watching football. I was at home with my family. We’ve been gone a lot lately.

“We’ve had a few days to spend with our families before our next big game on New Year’s Day.”

“At this point, I’m not talking about winning the league.” I don’t believe anyone on our team will do so because we all know that anything may happen.

“What we are striving for is consistency and just winning the game ahead of us, which has been key to our success previously.”