Programme notesJordan Henderson: I want Sunday to be a celebration

Liverpool will host Wolverhampton Wanderers this weekend sitting a point behind Manchester City, who face Aston Villa at home at the same time.

The Reds have already lifted the Carabao Cup and Emirates FA Cup this term, contest the Champions League final next Saturday, and will play every game available to them in 2021-22.

And so, wherever Jürgen Klopp’s team finish in the league standings, Henderson sees the occasion as an opportunity to mark a remarkable campaign together at Anfield.

“The final home game of the season is always a special occasion,” the captain writes in his notes for the official matchday programme.

“It’s something that the players, staff and our families all look forward to, particularly if it has been a decent campaign, because Anfield feels even more festive than usual.

“It is also something that is especially true today as we head towards the last game of a season which will go down as one of the most incredible in the history of this great club.

“As things stand, it is not yet incredible in terms of trophies. Up to now we have won the two domestic cups and while that is absolutely brilliant, we still want more and we are also well-aware that previous Liverpool teams have won more. But in terms of playing every possible game in every competition, fighting to the very end in all four, and creating stories and memories that will live with all of us forever, it could only be described as incredible.

“That is why I want today to be a celebration. This is the best opportunity we will have to enjoy what we have achieved together so we should make the most of it.

“For the players, this means performing as we have in our previous 61 fixtures, showing pride in the shirt and playing for our wonderful supporters. For our fans, I hope that no matter what the outcome of the title race is that each and every one of you can revel in what you are part of.

“We might not be able to control what happens elsewhere, but we can control what happens at Anfield so we may as well do everything we can to turn today’s game into the kind of occasion that shows the world why this is such a special club.

“Going into the last game of the domestic season with the title race still to be decided and a Champions League final still to come is testament to the work that has been going on here for some time, both on and off the pitch. I’d go as far to say that it would have been impossible unless every single person at the club played their part. It is a collective effort in its truest sense and our supporters are as big a part of this as anyone.

“This was obvious once again last weekend when we won the FA Cup at Wembley. Our squad was tested to the full, the club staff worked overtime to help make everything happen and the supporters showed yet again why no others can match them when it comes to colour, noise and celebrations.

“That we were then able to go again at Southampton in midweek and get another positive result is, in its own way, the best measure of where we’re at as a club because it would have been easy for our standards to drop given the schedule and how much everyone had given a few days earlier. But as has been the case throughout this season, everyone who represented Liverpool did the club proud.

“If we can do this for just two more games it will be absolutely brilliant. There are no guarantees that even doing this will be enough to win the prizes that we are chasing, but it will give us the best possible chance of doing so. And then, once this season is done and dusted, we have to take advantage of the summer break before coming back ready to go for the next one.

“We’ve set standards for ourselves, over the last nine to 10 months especially, so the challenge now is to keep on living up to them. What I would also say, though, is that one of the key factors in setting these standards that is too easily overlooked is having the utmost respect for our opponents. If we didn’t have that you might have seen some complacency creep in, but this hasn’t happened.

“We know how good the teams in our league are and we also know that every one of them is capable of beating all others on any given day. In many ways, this is the starting point for everything we do because it means we know we have to give our best every single day, whether in training or in games.

“This approach certainly applies today against a Wolves side who gave us one of our toughest games of the season back in December. The victory we secured that day was down to the intervention of Divock Origi – how many times have we said that over the last few years? – and without the three points that his goal earned it’s possible that everything that’s happened since might have turned out differently.

“It looks like today will be Divock’s last at Anfield for Liverpool so I hope he gets the kind of send-off he deserves. Actually I know that he will because he has been such a special player for us, but he is also an incredible person who has taken this city and its people to his heart.

“His legacy will be his achievements for this club, but it will also be the good causes he has supported, like the local students he is helping to put through university.

“Today should be a celebration no matter what happens and as club captain I will certainly be celebrating Divock and wishing him all the best for the future. The big fella deserves nothing less.”

Pick up a copy of the matchday programme at Anfield on Sunday or order online here.