Rob Baxter says Exeter face a tougher task than Liverpool when returning from lockdown as favourites to be crowned English champions.
Jurgen Klopp’s Reds clinched the Premier League on Thursday having restarted their campaign with a 25-point lead.
Chiefs have 11 games, including play-offs, still to go and lead rugby’s Premiership by only five.
Baxter insists his side “aim to start on fire and get better from there” when the top flight resumes in mid-August.
And he acknowledged that seeing Liverpool pick up from where they left off gives his Exeter side confidence that they can follow suit.
But he said: “Liverpool have a bigger lead than we’ve got and they don’t have to play a semi-final or final.
“I am confident we’ll return and be a good side. The huge difference is that Liverpool could come back and be a bit shaky and still win.
“For us, we’ve still got to get the points to be in the top four and then, whatever happens, we’d have to win a semi-final and a final. Two big games.
“Liverpool never had to come back having to win a couple of big games. It looked like it was going to happen anyway.”
Exeter have made the last four finals, winning only in 2017 - though their three losses were to Saracens who have since been busted and condemned to relegation for salary cap breaches.
Baxter had them looking as good as ever before lockdown but with Sale and Bristol snapping at their heels there is little room for error.
“Do I have confidence that we will do okay? Yes, I do," he said. "Going into a shortened season you want to start top of the pile, not bottom, as opportunity for gathering points is limited.
“But the important thing is to try and keep things in your own hands for as long as possible."
Baxter admits there is no certainty the season will even restart on time given the recent breakdown in social distancing.
“People are mingling now, you see things that are happening on beaches, even in Liverpool with them celebrating, there is a lot of close contact happening," he said.
“I would imagine if any these things lead to second spikes, or changes in how we are dealing with the Covid-19 situation at the moment, things like sport will get changed quicker than anything else.”
