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

The Reds had five days off after their Boxing Day victory over Burnley before meeting Newcastle United at Anfield on Monday.

Manchester City triumphed twice in five days, once at Everton and once at home against Sheffield United, while Arsenal lost to West Ham United and traveled to Fulham on Sunday.

Van Dijk responded, “Not at all.” When questioned if he was paying attention to their opponents during this time, he said, “Not at all.” I didn’t bother watching football at all. My family and I were at home. We’ve been traveling 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 doubt anyone on our squad will do so because we are all aware that anything might happen.

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