Vicky Jepson: Liverpool manager says players 'heartbroken' by WSL relegation

Vicky Jepson's Liverpool were a point from safety when the WSL season was suspended, although they had played a game more than second-from-bottom Birmingham

Boss Vicky Jepson says Liverpool's players are "heartbroken" by their relegation from the Women's Super League on a points-per-game ratio.

The Reds were one point adrift of safety prior to the suspension of the league because of coronavirus in March.

Liverpool, who won one and drew three of their 14 completed matches, had eight games outstanding.

Jepson said relegation is "an extremely tough pill to swallow as a manager, for our players, our staff and our fans".

She told LFC TV: "I reach out to the Liverpool fans. We need them more than ever to stick by our players because I have spoken to the girls and they were extremely heartbroken by the decision."

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With almost a third of their original 22-game season not played, Jepson was optimistic that the club could end their season better than it began.

The two-time WSL winners were a point adrift of 11th-placed Birmingham City with eight games remaining, but Blues had a game in hand.

"We were in a position where we were ready to come back and fulfil the fixtures within our league. We had only played 64% of our fixtures so we wanted to play those last eight games to prove a point that we could stay in the WSL," she added.

"If we still sat at the bottom after those eight games, we would have felt that was a fair way of judging if we deserved to be relegated. Obviously there is disappointment with the decision."