Martin Skrtel is convinced Liverpool can still follow the example of his former club Zenit St Petersburg by ending their long wait for the championship.
Skrtel was part of the Zenit side that won the Russian title in 2007 for the first time in 23 years.
Liverpool have slipped down to third in the Premier League table after their damaging 1-1 draw at Wigan Athletic on Wednesday night.
But Skrtel said: “Titles are not won in January. Whether we are first, second or whatever position, the pressure is still the same.
“There is still a long way to go and a lot of games until the end of the season.
“We still have to play Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Aston Villa – all the teams up around the top of the table.
“We know we can beat these teams and it is far from over yet.
“We’ve already beaten United this season so we know we are capable of doing that again. But it’s not just them we have to beat, though. If we want to win the league, we have to try and beat everyone we come up against.”
Of his experience in Russia, Skrtel added: “Zenit hadn’t won the league since 1984 and it was such a long time to go without being champions. In that respect it was even better when we won it.
“There is only one club in St Petersburg so all the people in the city support the club. It was great to win the title for them after so long.
“It would be great to experience that feeling again here with Liverpool. Nineteen years is a long time to wait for another league title. It would be brilliant to help Liverpool win it again after all this time.”
Despite losing only one league game this season, Liverpool’s main problem has been an inability to kill off teams.
Wednesday’s result was their seventh draw in their last 10 top-flight games, and Skrtel admitted: “We need to start winning again after a couple of draws in the league.
“We’re not losing, though, and we’ve lost just once in the league all season. If we can start winning again, we can keep up our challenge at the top of the table. That is where we want to be as we get towards the end of the season.”
Yossi Benayoun, who opened the scoring just before half-time at the JJB Stadium, denied the players were struggling to cope with the pressure of a title challenge.
Chelsea, who overtook Liverpool in the table on goal difference, are their next opponents at Anfield on Sunday and the Israel midfielder believes they are up to the test.
“There is always pressure to win games. I think we can cope with this pressure and hopefully we will prove it on Sunday,” said Benayoun.
“We have to keep working hard to turn it around because we have drawn four games in a row (including the FA Cup tie against Everton).
“We have to try to play better and finish games. We have creative players on the pitch and we try to do our best and make sure everyone gives 100% but sometimes it is not enough.
“We expected to win those (drawn) games and be top of the league. Now we have made it a bit more difficult as Manchester United could be five points ahead if they win their game in hand.
“We have to start winning games soon. We have a very important game against Chelsea on Sunday and we have to win games if we want to try to win the league.”
Skrtel was part of the Zenit side that won the Russian title in 2007 for the first time in 23 years.
Liverpool have slipped down to third in the Premier League table after their damaging 1-1 draw at Wigan Athletic on Wednesday night.
But Skrtel said: “Titles are not won in January. Whether we are first, second or whatever position, the pressure is still the same.
“There is still a long way to go and a lot of games until the end of the season.
“We still have to play Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Aston Villa – all the teams up around the top of the table.
“We know we can beat these teams and it is far from over yet.
“We’ve already beaten United this season so we know we are capable of doing that again. But it’s not just them we have to beat, though. If we want to win the league, we have to try and beat everyone we come up against.”
Of his experience in Russia, Skrtel added: “Zenit hadn’t won the league since 1984 and it was such a long time to go without being champions. In that respect it was even better when we won it.
“There is only one club in St Petersburg so all the people in the city support the club. It was great to win the title for them after so long.
“It would be great to experience that feeling again here with Liverpool. Nineteen years is a long time to wait for another league title. It would be brilliant to help Liverpool win it again after all this time.”
Despite losing only one league game this season, Liverpool’s main problem has been an inability to kill off teams.
Wednesday’s result was their seventh draw in their last 10 top-flight games, and Skrtel admitted: “We need to start winning again after a couple of draws in the league.
“We’re not losing, though, and we’ve lost just once in the league all season. If we can start winning again, we can keep up our challenge at the top of the table. That is where we want to be as we get towards the end of the season.”
Yossi Benayoun, who opened the scoring just before half-time at the JJB Stadium, denied the players were struggling to cope with the pressure of a title challenge.
Chelsea, who overtook Liverpool in the table on goal difference, are their next opponents at Anfield on Sunday and the Israel midfielder believes they are up to the test.
“There is always pressure to win games. I think we can cope with this pressure and hopefully we will prove it on Sunday,” said Benayoun.
“We have to keep working hard to turn it around because we have drawn four games in a row (including the FA Cup tie against Everton).
“We have to try to play better and finish games. We have creative players on the pitch and we try to do our best and make sure everyone gives 100% but sometimes it is not enough.
“We expected to win those (drawn) games and be top of the league. Now we have made it a bit more difficult as Manchester United could be five points ahead if they win their game in hand.
“We have to start winning games soon. We have a very important game against Chelsea on Sunday and we have to win games if we want to try to win the league.”
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