Steven Gerrard admits Liverpool must learn to cope with the pressure of being top of the Premier League if they are to end their championship drought.
Rafael Benitez’s side moved clear at the summit with a goalless draw at home to West Ham United on Monday night.
But a second successive Anfield stalemate brought jeers from sections of the crowd frustrated at Liverpool’s indifferent recent form.
Since initially going top with victory at Chelsea in October, the Anfield outfit have won only three of their subsequent six Premier League games.
And Gerrard believes Liverpool need to come to terms with the unique demands of being front-runners as they aim for a first title since 1990.
“We’re up against some fantastic teams in Chelsea, Arsenal, United and Villa, and other teams are putting pressure on the top four,” he said.
“There’s so much pressure week-in, week-out to deliver results and we need to learn to handle that pressure, and we need to learn to deal with being at the top.
“There’s a different pressure being at the top to being second or third, and that’s where we need to learn to relax and keep doing the things we’ve done that got us to the top.”
Gerrard added: “I think as captain it’s important to dampen down expectations – there’s no point getting carried away in December, there’s still an awful long way to go.
“But there’s a belief in the dressing room that we can be contenders and we can be in the title race. It’s easy for me to say that, we’ve got to go and prove that with performances.”
Jamie Carragher has urged Liverpool to overcome the absence of Fernando Torres and rediscover their goal-scoring touch.
Liverpool have netted just 13 in their last 11 outings, a period during which hamstring problems have meant Torres has started just three games. And with the Spaniard expected to be sidelined for at least another fortnight, Carragher admits the rest of the Liverpool team must start contributing in front of goal.
“We all need to step up,” he said. “Sami Hyypia had the best chances against West Ham. It’s important we spread it around, it’s something we have got to do, we can’t just rely on the strikers to score.
“You have to defend as a team but you also have to attack as one. Even if you win games two or three-nil you’re still going to miss Fernando Torres.
“Scoring goals is something we all have to sort out together. We are going through a bad spell and have to keep showing character.”
Rafael Benitez’s side moved clear at the summit with a goalless draw at home to West Ham United on Monday night.
But a second successive Anfield stalemate brought jeers from sections of the crowd frustrated at Liverpool’s indifferent recent form.
Since initially going top with victory at Chelsea in October, the Anfield outfit have won only three of their subsequent six Premier League games.
And Gerrard believes Liverpool need to come to terms with the unique demands of being front-runners as they aim for a first title since 1990.
“We’re up against some fantastic teams in Chelsea, Arsenal, United and Villa, and other teams are putting pressure on the top four,” he said.
“There’s so much pressure week-in, week-out to deliver results and we need to learn to handle that pressure, and we need to learn to deal with being at the top.
“There’s a different pressure being at the top to being second or third, and that’s where we need to learn to relax and keep doing the things we’ve done that got us to the top.”
Gerrard added: “I think as captain it’s important to dampen down expectations – there’s no point getting carried away in December, there’s still an awful long way to go.
“But there’s a belief in the dressing room that we can be contenders and we can be in the title race. It’s easy for me to say that, we’ve got to go and prove that with performances.”
Jamie Carragher has urged Liverpool to overcome the absence of Fernando Torres and rediscover their goal-scoring touch.
Liverpool have netted just 13 in their last 11 outings, a period during which hamstring problems have meant Torres has started just three games. And with the Spaniard expected to be sidelined for at least another fortnight, Carragher admits the rest of the Liverpool team must start contributing in front of goal.
“We all need to step up,” he said. “Sami Hyypia had the best chances against West Ham. It’s important we spread it around, it’s something we have got to do, we can’t just rely on the strikers to score.
“You have to defend as a team but you also have to attack as one. Even if you win games two or three-nil you’re still going to miss Fernando Torres.
“Scoring goals is something we all have to sort out together. We are going through a bad spell and have to keep showing character.”
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