LONDON • Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp says his main focus is to ensure the squad that delivered the Merseyside club's first top-flight title in three decades is not broken up in the near future.

Liverpool's 30-year wait for their 19th English top-flight title ended on Thursday after second-placed Manchester City were beaten 2-1 by Chelsea, giving Klopp's side an unassailable 23-point lead with seven games left.

The German, who took charge of Liverpool in 2015, has overseen a period of sustained dominance, having also delivered the Champions League last season. But he stopped short of talking up ambitions to build a dynasty, even if "the history is no burden any more".

"Winning all the time, that's really difficult because the other teams are too good for that," he told the BBC. "They have a good chance to improve of course as well - we have to be better, they have to, we will, they will and then we will see who is best.

"We have to bring in new things, other teams will defend (against) us differently, we have to adapt but that is normal in life and in football. But the consistency, if we can keep it that would be a massive achievement already."

Klopp remains focused on what he can control and that includes keeping his best players at the club.

"I cannot promise we will dominate football now, nor do I know if it is time to talk about major upheavals," he told German newspaper Bild. "But I know our goal is to keep the team together."

The 53-year-old believes Liverpool are not in the same boat as his former club Borussia Dortmund, who lost key stars such as Shinji Kagawa and Robert Lewandowski in the seasons that followed their back-to-back Bundesliga title triumphs in 2011 and 2012.

"The problem was that our (Dortmund) team was picked up by other clubs. That hasn't happened here and now the team has been exceptionally consistent for 21/2 years," he added.

Dortmund's Jadon Sancho is a transfer target for Liverpool according to media reports, but Klopp does not envisage his side making a move for the English winger. "If he moved to Liverpool, I would be the most surprised of all," he said.

Reds midfielder James Milner believes the key to Liverpool enjoying continued success will be their hunger for it.

The 34-year-old, the only Liverpool player to have won multiple Premier League titles after lifting the trophy with Manchester City in 2012 and 2014, expects a strong response from Pep Guardiola's team next term.

"You see how difficult it is for any team to defend the title," he told the Times. "City managed it last season... but they tried twice before and failed. The two times I was there in seasons after winning titles we were never at the races...

"This Liverpool team has shown we can deal with disappointment. Can we now show that we can deal with success?

"Being as good next year as we've been this year won't be enough, City will raise their game and so will other clubs."

REUTERS