Troy Deeney: Liverpool deserve to be champions but Premier League integrity already lost; Watford skipper to return to training

With Liverpool sitting 25 points clear before the coronavirus struck, Deeney has no problem with them claiming their first title in 30 years, and has sympathy with Jurgen Klopp's side that their record-breaking efforts are not what the season will be remembered by.

Liverpool should be crowned champions one way or another, says Deeney, but the European and relegation issues that are to be settled will not be done so on a level playing field.

"I believe that when it comes to the integrity of this season anyway, it's already gone," Deeney told CNN Sport. "I feel sorry for Liverpool because no matter how it plays out, they deserve to win the league. They deserve to get the trophy.

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"But no matter how it plays out, even if we play all the games, it's still going to be the year spoiled by the pandemic. It's not going to be that year that Liverpool won the league being the best team and, you know, it's 30 years they haven't won for.

"So I do feel sorry for Liverpool and their players and Jordan [Henderson], but in terms of integrity, there's no way you could say that this is a viable competition," added Deeney, referring to the Liverpool captain.

"It's like running a marathon, 20 odd miles, stopping for two months and then sprinting the last bit and going: 'Ah, that was a good time that.'"

Deeney reflected on some heated meetings with the Premier League over the proposed return to training, but was not prepared by the online abuse he got after merely trying to protect himself and his young son.

"I just think my concerns were purely for family reasons," he explained. "I needed more questions answered with a bit more authority and, at the start, they couldn't really do that, but not for any reason or want, it was just because they didn't have the information.

"I saw some comments in regards to my son, people saying: 'I hope your son gets corona. That's the hard part for me. If you respond to that, people then go: 'Ah, we've got him' and they keep doing it.

"In a time where it's all about mental health and everyone says: 'Speak up, speak out, please speak,' Danny Rose spoke out ... and I spoke out and we just get absolutely hammered and battered for it.

"So people see that and go: 'Woah' and it's not just us that gets it, the missus gets direct messages and you'll be walking down the street and people will be like: 'Oh, I'm at work, you go back to work.'"

Further talks with the Premier League, and with the UK's Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Professor Jonathan Van-Tam, have helped Deeney to become a bit more relaxed about eventually returning to football.

"I think everyone can appreciate everything that the Premier League is trying to do as well. I don't think it's a pure neglect of: 'We're going back to work and get on board. They have very good lines of communication.

"These meetings don't stay too safe - there's some frustrating conversations. When somebody said I'm at the same risk of getting coronavirus by playing football or going to the supermarket, I said: 'I've never had to jump for a header while picking up a cucumber.'

"But then there's also been some really good ones as well.

"He's (Van-Tam) been doing very, very good research and there is a lot of good will on his part to tell me, ultimately, that I'm going to be looked after as best as they can and, ultimately, there is going to be some form of risk for all of us going back to work."

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