Virgil Van Dijk says that lessons learnt from last season will keep the team in good stead as Liverpool look to build upon their good start to the new campaign.
The Reds maintained their 100% record after being given a searching test by newly promoted Sheffield United at Bramall lane on Saturday afternoon.
Man City’s win against Everton later on in the day reduced the margin atop the Premier League to five points.
With so much football to play out between now and May, there will certainly not be any complacency creep into anyone associated with the club, especially as they had a seven point lead at the turn of the new year.
As one of the leaders, Van Dijk knows it is incredibly important to keep their focus.
The Echo reported the Dutchman as saying:
“It’s far too early.
“We’re almost in October and the busy period will come.
“There are still so many games left and the only thing we focus on is the game ahead of us.
“We don’t want to look at the others because there’s no point doing that.
“ Everyone realises that as well because last season, we saw how it turned quickly.
“We just want to focus on the game ahead of us.
Van Dijk said that team takes no opposition for granted and that was certainly the case against a very impressive Blades outfit.
“Everyone knew how tough it would be [at Sheffield United].
“It’s a great place to come, passionate fans, a great atmosphere. It was a tough game.
“We had moments, we had chances when we should have scored. They didn’t go in, but in the end the three points is all that matters."
While the football pundits count the number of league games since Liverpool dropped points (16), it is something that couldn’t be further from the mind of the players according to the defender.
“ It’s the media who love statistics.
"The reality is we have [won] nothing at the moment.
"We want to continue to do well and there’s still plenty of room for improvement.
Despite not focussing on records, Van Dijk says that maintaining belief is vital for success.
“We have the quality, we have the players.
“We have to be confident, you have to think you’re going to win every game otherwise you might as well stay at home.
Van Dijk enjoys the different kind of challenges that each team presents during the season.
“The thing is every team we play have different strengths and we have to adapt and battle.
“I think every game is different.
"So far this season, we have not had a game like this (Sheffield United) in my opinion."
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