‘If you slip up now’ – Roy Keane cites Real Madrid comparison in title race warning to Liverpool | OneFootball

Although Roy Keane is convinced that Liverpool won’t be caught in the Premier League title race, he’s still warned the Reds about the dangers of switching off mentally from their current position.

Arne Slot’s side went 11 points clear at the top after beating Manchester City 2-0 on Sunday, with the Merseysiders now in such a dominant place that even their own fans felt comfortable enough to break out the “we’re gonna win the league” chant at the Etihad Stadium yesterday.

Our next three top-flight fixtures are all at home, with Newcastle, Southampton and Everton coming to Anfield, and the ex-Manchester United captain has advised LFC not to let their standards slip and to regard each of those teams with the utmost respect.

Keane warns Liverpool not to drop their standards

Speaking on Sky Sports after Liverpool’s win on Sunday (via The Mirror), Keane said: “You have to have that bit of tension in the dressing room saying if you slip up now, you’ll be a laughing stock. You look at the players getting interviewed afterwards and they are probably low-key about it, but in the dressing room you know what a big result this is.

“The manager knows, the opposition will know, but you still have to kick on. You are reminding people about being complacent and being on your toes. You’d have good squad members and obviously the manager would do it, the senior players would do it to make sure you don’t slack off in training.

“You look at some of the fixtures and you’re playing Southampton at home, but you treat Southampton like you’re playing Real Madrid; you treat teams with respect. If they keep carrying on doing what they’re doing.

“Liverpool don’t have to do anything extraordinary. Just do what you’re doing; be efficient. Two goals a game is a big one. It’s a simple message saying if you get them, which you have been doing all season anyway, you are guaranteed to win the league.”

(Photo by Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

Liverpool mustn’t relax despite dominant position

As a multiple Premier League winner in his playing days, Keane knows about the mindset that’s required to get over the line in first place, and he’s right in saying that Liverpool mustn’t relax from here.

The Reds have already earned more points in February alone than Southampton (who visit Anfield on 8 March) have managed all season, but while most pundits will dismiss that game as a foregone conclusion, Slot and his players will know that they need to bring the right attitude onto the pitch with them that day.

They won’t have forgotten how close they came to a sobering defeat at St Mary’s earlier in the season, having needed to retrieve a 2-1 deficit to earn a hard-fought victory, and there was only one goal to choose between the teams when they met in the Carabao Cup quarter-finals a month later.

Thankfully, battle-hardened campaigners such as Virgil van Dijk, Andy Robertson, Mo Salah and a few more won’t allow themselves or their teammates to slacken off and will demand that the standards they’ve set up to now are maintained until such time that Liverpool are mathematically out of reach.

The players will have enjoyed their win at the Etihad last night, but as soon as they woke up this morning, the focus switches to getting the same result against Newcastle on Wednesday. The Reds must keep their foot on the accelerator and continue to assert their authority in the title race.