Liverpool take on Manchester City in the final Premier League match of 2016 on Saturday evening and Jordan Henderson attempts to explain the rush of walking out under the Anfield floodlights. “You sense something,” he says. “It lifts you and it can definitely affect the opponents as well. It’s the most amazing feeling when they sing You’ll Never Walk Alone. You feel honoured to be part of it – and then you just have to go and give the best performance you can.”

It is a potentially defining fixture between two possible title contenders or, at least, two top-four heavyweights; a fixture that will end one year and provide a launch pad for the next. That could provoke euphoria or angst. Henderson is too circumspect and professional, partly because he has been here before, to spell it out but Liverpool also feels like a club bursting for lift-off under Jürgen Klopp, who he describes as a “world-class” manager.

“That’s the plan,” Henderson says. “The players we have got. The manager we have got. Everything is set for us to go and achieve great things but it is down to us to make sure it happens.”

Taking that responsibility is important to Henderson. At 26, he is reaching his prime and fully understands the value of playing for Liverpool and also captaining them. “It’s a privilege,” the midfielder states. “Because, in my opinion, there is no better place to be for a footballer than Liverpool.”