THEY came to wave goodbye to the Premier League.

But while Hull City were already resigned to their fate, uncertainty was the only definite on the Liverpool coach that pulled away from KC Stadium yesterday evening.

After drawing a line under a tortuous, hugely disappointing campaign, so begins a summer at Anfield that could well prove of enormous resonance for many years to come.

From the owners to the manager to the playing staff, the fate of almost everyone at Liverpool seems in the balance over the next few months.

Not that there will be much time to consider the options. Only 81 days after the sounding of yesterday’s final whistle, Rafael Benitez’s side must now begin the quest of rebuilding their shattered reputation in the third qualifying round of the Europa League.

That it may start in countries as far flung as Armenia, Kazakhstan, Lithuania and the Faroe Islands demonstrates Liverpool’s fall from grace during the past 12 months.

But will it still be Benitez’s side by that point? The Spaniard finally nailed his colours to the mast by declaring his desire to stay at Anfield, albeit with the significant caveat that “everything is fine”.

Right now, everything is very much not fine.

Liverpool’s precarious off-field position was brought into sharp focus by the release of an alarming set of accounts for the previous year, the club increasingly crippled by the debt burden of owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett.