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Steven Gerrard warns Liverpool not to get cocky

By on April 14, 2014

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has warned his teammates that unless they treat their final four games in the season all like their Champions League final against AC Milan back in 2005 and the last game of their careers, their remarkable Premier League run so far this season could still leave them with nothing to show at the end of the season. While Brendan Rodgers’ side beat Manchester City last weekend to put them four wins away from their first Premier League title in 24 years, Gerrard has reminded Liverpool that their 19th league championship still hangs in the balance if they let any points drop from their final four fixtures this season.  The Reds are just two points clear at the top of the table, and with a loss to Chelsea in their third to last game not only could The Blues pass them up but Manchester City would be given a decent shot at it too if Manuel Pellegrini’s side win their two game in hand.

However, aside from Chelsea’s visit to Anfield Liverpool have what should be a routine Premier League run-in, only having to face fourth to bottom Norwich City, Crystal Palace and Newcastle United.  The former champions of Europe have only lost in one of their meetings with those three sides since 2011, but if they were to this season what has been a remarkable run for them in the league would almost surely leave them empty-handed at the end of the season.  The 10th oldest club in the league have failed to finish higher than sixth in the Premier League for the past four seasons, and have only come as close as second twice since England’s top division was re-branded in 1992.  Yet four wins in their final four matches could mean only their second taste of silverware since 2006, and it might also be Gerrard’s last chance to win the league as captain of the only club he has ever played for.

Thus Gerrard urged his side to treat even their match against Norwich as if it were verses Manchester City, saying: “Every game is getting bigger because we are getting closer to the last game of the season. Man City was always going to be huge because they are in the race with us but Norwich now become Man City. Norwich become Chelsea. Norwich become Manchester United. That’s how big it is. We have got to treat Norwich like we treated AC Milan in 2005. That’s just how football is. We can’t think about what color shirts Norwich are wearing and the personnel in them. We have got to treat them like the best team in the world.”

The 33-year-old added, speaking on Liverpool’s season so far: “It is a remarkable run but you get nothing for it. You get a pat on the back. We’ve all had them but they come and go. What is key as a footballer is getting something to show for all the hard work. We have been on a magnificent run. We could win 13 on the spin but lose the last one and we will get nothing. Nobody will remember it. The only way people will remember it is if we go on and win it. We have got to forget where we are and forget what we have done. We have just got to focus and prepare for Norwich now. We have got to treat it like it is the last game of all our careers. That is the mentality.”

Gerrard is level with Emlyn Hughes and Ray Clemence on 665 total appearances for Liverpool, the third most of any other player.  While the English international is also the club’s sixth highest goalscorer, has joined the elite group of players to earn over 100 caps for the England national team, and has lead Liverpool to FA Cup, League Cup, Community Shield, and Champions League titles, winning the league as captain of the club he supported as a boy would be Gerrard’s biggest triumph of his career in no uncertain terms.

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.