West Bromwich Albion captain Jake Livermore has sent out a warning to fellow Championship title hopefuls Leeds United, insisting that the Baggies still hold the ambition of finishing top of the table.
When the Championship campaign was suspended back in March, Leeds held a one point advantage over the Baggies at the summit after a run of five successive league victories, which saw Marcelo Bielsa's team win all five games without conceding a single goal.
After a disappointing start to 2020, which saw the Whites win just one of their opening seven league games this calendar year, Bielsa's troops got themselves back on track and went on a brilliant run that saw them clamber above Slaven Bilic's side and back to the top of the table.
Then, of course, came the suspension of the campaign, meaning Leeds' momentum was derailed at the worst possible time.
At the time of writing, no official date for when the Championship season will resume has been confirmed, though it is hoped that at some point in June clubs will be given the green light to take to the field once again.
Though West Brom, like every other club around Europe, will not have the backing of their supporters to try and get them over the line and in their fight to the Premier League because of games being ordered to take place behind closed doors, Baggies midfielder Livermore is confident that he and his teammates can get the job done, as well as pipping Leeds to the Championship title.
As quoted by The Express & Star, Livermore said: "The only fair way to finish it is on the field so there are no arguments.
“Every team is going to have their own agenda and ours is to finish the league and hopefully finish top.
“That is what we hope we are able to do. That is why we have been training on our own for the last seven weeks, for this opportunity.”
Despite over two months without having taken to the field, Livermore believes his teammates will be just as motivated to finish the job and end their Premier League absence.
“I’m not sure there was any more motivation we could fit in," he added. "The boys from minute one this season have been flat out going for our goal.
“Despite living in such a strange time that has not changed. Our goal is to protect our families of course but work-wise we want promotion.
Sign up to our daily Leeds United newsletter
Leeds United are a club that find themselves at the centre of everything and with legendary manager Marcelo Bielsa at the helm, and the club finally back where they belong - that's true now more than ever.
And you don't want to miss a thing, right?
In each Leeds United bulletin from Leeds Live, we'll be bringing you the latest breaking news, transfer features and comment pieces, as well as the key talking points for fans, straight to your inbox.
We'll also send special newsletters when big stories break or there's a special event happening.
You won't miss anything from what could end up being a very special season.
How do you sign up?
It's easy and only takes seconds.
Simply type your email address into the box at the top of this article - or any article on the Leeds United section of Leeds Live in fact - labelled 'Get the biggest daily stories by email' and click 'Subscribe'.
And that's it, you're all set to follow Bielsa's Leeds!
For more details, click here.
“The only way we can show our true appreciation is to finish it off properly and finish it off in style.
“If they can’t be there in the stadium then by all means we hope they are celebrating at home.
“We have a job to do in keeping the fans happy and entertaining fans. I don’t think there is any better way of doing that than getting back out on the field and finishing the job off properly.”
