Liverpool could lose their nerve: Neville
Former United man believes Reds will falter if title race goes down to the wire
Liverpool will lose their nerve if the English Premier League title race goes down the wire, according to former Manchester United defender Gary Neville.
The Reds are in pole position to win their first league title since 1990, with 14 games left to play.
| WEST HAM | LIVERPOOL |
Juergen Klopp's table-topping side are four points clear of Tottenham Hotspur with a game in hand and five clear of Manchester City - who played Arsenal this morning.
But Neville remains unconvinced.
Speaking ahead of the Reds' league clash with out-of-form West Ham United, he said on Sky Sports: "(City) are still in this title race, five points is not a major lead by any stretch of the imagination, it can be gone in two games.
"And it will just go away and move away from Liverpool if they make a mistake or two.
"For City, they just have to keep the pressure on.
"If City keep close within the last five games, I think they will win it. If it comes down to nerve in the last five games, City will win it.
"But I do think at this moment of time that City are making mistakes and Liverpool look like they are making less.
"And Liverpool could pull clear a little bit and that could be a problem for City, they might just get far enough in front to be able to cause City a bigger problem."
However, Klopp and midfielder Xherdan Shaqiri, who have both won league titles in Germany, believe the Reds are not short of title-winning pedigree.
Said Klopp: "I am not a nervous person and so I was never nervous before we won the first title at (Borussia) Dortmund.
"That's how it is.
"Experience showed me that the way I did it in the past worked, so I didn't change."
The German added that the pressure the Reds are facing now is no different to the situation faced by his side when they marched into the Champions League final and secured a top-four spot in the EPL last season.
Said Klopp: "Yes, there is pressure. There was pressure last year, a lot of pressure when we played Man City away in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, and we dealt with it.
"There was pressure at Rome, there was pressure in so many moments in the Premier League.
"We had to win each game because Chelsea were constantly chasing us. That is the only way we can do it...
"Will there be nervous moments? Yes, for sure. Don't make them bigger than they are because there were nervous situations last year, two years ago, three years ago."
Shaqiri, meanwhile, said his Liverpool team have the same title-winning mentality as his former Bayern Munich teammates.
He said: "I played in Germany and won titles there, so I have experience of it.
"It has to be a winning mentality and the players need to be focused. The mentality is similar (here)."
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now