Liverpool’s supporters are set to enjoy unprecedented achievements that would take them all the way to the club’s first league title since 1990.

But right now, despite enjoying a double-digit lead over their closest challengers at the top of the Premier League, nobody connected to the club — player, fan, director or otherwise — is daring to speak publicly about ending the 30-year wait to be crowned champions of England again.

It’s partly desperation and part fear of failure — the scars are still raw from Steven Gerrard’s slip against Chelsea which as good as cost Liverpool the title in 2014 — but manager Jurgen Klopp appears to be the only person at Anfield who can see the funny side of the tension that is gripping the Liverpool fan base.

“They are [desperate for the title], Klopp laughs, during an interview with ESPN. “They are, but we cannot change that. We cannot change that it takes time, that you have to work, that you have to play all the games.

“It is not for sure that we will win it. We have a chance obviously. We’ve created a good base so far, but we have to fight in each game like crazy. Nothing is easy for us.”

But are the fans too scared of something going wrong to even dare mention their desire to see the Premier League trophy hoisted aloft by captain Jordan Henderson next May?

“No, no, no, people tell me that constantly,” Klopp said. “When I see them, they constantly tell me that. But the only thing what I can say is ‘I try’ or ‘we try.’ I cannot promise more. That’s how it is.

“When I became champion with Dortmund, it was always the same question. It’s always about ‘come on, do you want to be champion?’ Of course you want to be champion. ‘But will you be champion?’ I don’t know. It’s not interesting to me until we are.”

One thing that is certain amid all the nervous tension, however, is that no Liverpool supporter would rather have anyone else leading their title charge than Klopp. The 52-year-old German, who ended Borussia Dortmund’s nine-year wait for a Bundesliga title back in 2010-11, has become the coach that every other club would dream to have since succeeding Brendan Rodgers at Anfield in Oct 2015. Pep Guardiola might have more trophies on the board than Klopp, but nobody connects to their club’s supporters quite like Klopp, and it’s difficult to argue that even Guardiola’s City have been a more exciting, scintillating team than the current Liverpool side.

Ultimately, Klopp’s refusal to allow the pressure that comes with chasing silverware to become a burden shows why he’s the perfect man for Liverpool.

Expectancy is huge at Anfield, but Klopp has harnessed it as a positive energy — Barcelona’s capitulation in last season’s 4-0 Champions League semifinal second-leg defeat is an example of the irresistible force he can create — and the ability of his team to overcome the disappointment of finishing second on 97 points last season is down to the manager’s refusal to focus on the negative.

“Common sense,” Klopp said, when asked how he turned finishing second into a positive. “Yes, we were disappointed, but if your main contender is Man City, you can’t expect to just get something only because you do your best, because they did it as well.

“We pushed each other through the league and we were disappointed, yes, but of course it helped that we had three weeks later a big final [in the Champions League] for us. It helped, for sure, but the disappointment after the season was not as much as we would maybe expect. And not because we didn’t want it. I think everyone saw we really wanted it. Just because we accept the reality. That’s how it is. That’s what I said before.

“All Liverpool supporters wanted to be champion, and it didn’t work out, obviously. We try again and again and it is what we do this year with a slightly better basis than usually. That is all.”