Steven Gerrard has been waiting for this moment: the chance to sit atop the Premier League mountain and survey the groundlings below him. Ah, the sweet smell of success! But could the smell of success already have a sour stench? Stevie G is has already forgotten about the win. Instead of reveling in the moment, he’s already looking ahead to Pompey on Wednesday.
“It’s important not to get carried away,” said the Anfield skipper. “We’re still only in October. We’re in a nice position in the league but Chelsea are a fantastic side who will come back and Manchester United will be there or thereabouts.
“We’ve won nothing yet. It was a massive win and three big points but if we slip up against Portsmouth then those points will be irrelevant.
“To win this league and become champions you have to handle the pressure of being at the top. That’s the challenge for us now. Can we handle being top of the league?
“We’ve done superbly well so far, we’re unbeaten, and we have to keep that going now, starting against Portsmouth.” (Liverpoolfc.tv)
This is a unique situation for Gerrard and his mates. Like Arsenal last season, the club are in uncharted territory with a hungry squad; it will be interesting to see how Liverpool plays with a three-point lead over Hull and Chelsea this week. Will they play conservative and tight, or will they play loose and confident like they did in the Chelsea match? That remains to be seen. What we do know is that Gerrard seems to have the right frame of mind for the long title race ahead.