Liverpool goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher has told his teammates they cannot afford to slow down after opening a gap at the top of the Premier League.
The Reds know that whatever their result at Southampton on Sunday, they will end the weekend top of the table after a superb start from new manager Arne Slot, who has yet to taste just one defeat since taking over. this summer.
A match against a bottom of the table Saints side with just one league win this season is clearly one Liverpool should win, but bigger challenges await them in the coming days with Real Madrid expected at Anfield in the Champions League on Wednesday before Manchester. City tour next weekend.
“After this last international break it’s quite intense now, obviously we play pretty much every three days,” Kelleher told the club’s website.
“We’re not going to take anything for granted. I know maybe the outside world is already making noise saying we are so far in the league now, but we don’t really think about it.
“We know that we cannot let up for a single second because we will be punished. We focus on Southampton first and then try to get some wins.
Kelleher, who is expected to retain his place in goal in Alisson Becker’s prolonged absence, echoed Slot’s view in saying Southampton are better than their results suggest.
“We, the players and the staff, know, we are not stupid,” he said.
“We know how good they are and the quality of these players. I think sometimes the results don’t reflect the quality of the team itself.
“You have to take every team in this league very seriously, otherwise you end up not getting good results.
“We will prepare as if we were playing against Man City, Chelsea or Arsenal. For teams like that, we’re going to prepare exactly the same and give it our all.
Kelleher, who turned 26 on Saturday, has been at Liverpool for almost a decade.
Despite not winning a medal in his 2019/20 Premier League season, having not made a league appearance that season, Kelleher recognizes the hunger and desire for this campaign in the team current.
“There’s obviously, I think, a big hunger in us to win more trophies and really compete at the highest level,” he said.
“A lot of that squad is gone now, so there aren’t many members of the squad who have tasted success in the Premier League or Champions League.
“There is a lot of hunger in this new team to achieve this type of thing. We know we have the quality, but we have to go out and show it. There’s definitely a lot of hunger throughout the team.