When the hunters become the hunted: Time to turn the doubters into believers again - by Jason Harris

Have you ever watched one of those 5,000 or 10,000 metre races at the Olympics when one of the competitors makes a brave call and breaks away from the pack?

It seems to be a considered and calculated call on the face of things, but there is always the risk that they went just a bit too early. While you may not have an emotional interest in who wins, you are holding their breath, hoping their bravery is rewarded with a victory.

However the chasing pack is closing in, and working as a team to reign in this individual in. It is like the leader of the race has suddenly become an underdog, and it will take a effort of great strength to hold on when all is against them.

At this point of time, it feels a lot like Liverpool are just like that runner, currently leading the race, beginning to feel the heat from behind. What could have been a seven-point gap is now down to three and more than likely come Wednesday evening will have been erased altogether.

The psyche of the mind is a remarkable thing. Why does there seem to be a kind of tightness when you leading from the front and an element of freedom when you are coming from behind? 

For all intents and purposes, who wouldn't want to be leading when you are approaching the critical closing stages of a gruelling season. You are looking to maintain that energy and fine play that got you into the lead in the first place.

But it is a bloody tough thing to maintain.

Obstacles are appearing all over the place, be it injuries, a sudden lack of confidence, or your opposition starting to find their best form.

The gaze from the outside is shining bright, the doubts (be them subconsciously or otherwise) enter the mind. Every slight mistake is documented to the inch of its life and opponents are relishing in your misfortune.

It feels like the weight of the world is upon you and the hunters have now become the hunted. How you change that mindset is up to the individual (or this case team.)

To the great credit of the squad and management, they are intent on being positive, saying all the right things and not focusing on what they can't control. It might create a sexy story to say that Liverpool are currently crumbling, but that is far from the case. A little wobble most definitely, but at this stage nothing more than that.

Good teams manage to contain their sticky spell to a few games and don't let it stretch any further than that. Belief has been the magic word coming from the camp throughout the season.

You read any club press release, and it is almost like that word has been drilled into the players’ brain. As we know well, there are a few things you are going to get from Jurgen Klopp on a consistent basis- Complete Loyalty to his whole squad and a positive mindset.

Any self doubts are heavily frowned upon and the fanbase have a major role to play in this too. After the West Ham game, their captain Mark Noble raised an excellent point. Although the 'they were scared' quote got all the headlines, the words which really struck a chord were as follows.

"They (Liverpool) have got such a great chance, but the fans have to stick by them though. You need to stick together, it will be tough."

Now it's human nature to question something when it starts to go slightly astray. Every Liverpool fan would still have some scarring from 2013/4 and certainly don't want to go through anything like that in the near future. But we have shown in the recent past how formidable we can be when we work together as one.

There is a view that experience is vital in this situation. Sure that always helps, but on the flip side, the vast majority of the current squad do not carry any mental baggage from failed title challenges. There is also a train of thought that Man City taking back the lead could be the best possible thing to happen. Then we don't have the mantle of 'leader' attached to us and can reset and start again.

But personally speaking, that is fraught with danger for many reasons, more so because once they get a head of steam up, they are just as likely to run away with things. We should all look to embrace what is in front of us head on and look it in the eye. At this moment of time, it is still in our hands.

It's why I'm on the side of the runner who decides to takes the bull by the horns and believe victory will be obtained in that fashion. In other words, I still think we are a excellent chance of claiming the title.

You need to be fearless, don't be afraid of expectation. Don't look back and think about what could have been, do something about it when you have the chance. Certainly all is not lost, far from it.

Believe.

Jason Harris