Liverpool head coach Andoni Iraola believes it is too soon in the season to consider his team as title contenders, as they prepare to face Arsenal at Anfield on Sunday afternoon in the Premier League.
The Reds were usurped by the Gunners last season after their record-equalling 20th championship the previous campaign. Liverpool enter the game on the back of five successive victories and could move within three points of the second-placed Londoners with another win.
Uncertainty over the Premier League position of leaders Manchester City, who were found guilty of 114 charges of financial breaches and face the threat of severe punishment, means there is a possibility Arsenal are the effective front-runners.
Iraola plays down title talk
Liverpool legend Jamie Carragher believes his former club could now be regarded as Arsenal's nearest challengers, although Iraola refused to be drawn on his team's title aspirations.
“I think it is too early to start looking at the standings,” he said on Friday. “It is about preparing ourselves for a very difficult game.
“We know Arsenal and how good they are. They have very good players, working a lot in synchronicity and we have to be ready for that challenge.
“It’s going to be a demanding game but we also trust our players, trust ourselves and in the good atmosphere we will for sure have on Sunday, I hope we will be at level to win this game.”
Focus on one game at a time
Iraola added: "It is still October. We have to take one game at a time and I always say the reference is more or less when we’ve play against each other once so halfway through the season. That’s when you can start to look at the standings.
“Right now, we are in a position where need to improve and keep getting better.
“For fans, it is good if they have expectations or they think we can win. Normally that’s a good thing but if you ask me if I think it is still very early in the season.”
Managing a busy fixture schedule
Sunday's game is the seventh of nine in 29 days, with Wednesday's Carabao Cup win over Chelsea meaning the Reds are guaranteed a run of nine matches in 28 days in the build-up to Christmas after next month's international break.
Iraola spoke ahead of the season of the new challenge of having to regularly rotate his squad given the consistent run of midweek games. And of adjusting to the demands as a head coach, he said: "It’s true I didn’t have a lot of experience (coaching two games a week), but I had a lot as a player so I’ve already been to a lot of the stadiums in Europe and when you arrive back at 3am in the morning and so on.
“It’s different to managing but you do a lot of the job with the analysts, in the video room with the board and without spending the legs but I think our players are very used to it so a lot of the work is done.
“Now it’s more a matter of getting the decisions right, in terms of loading, freshen the legs. We are changing a lot from game to game and I think we will continue this approach.
“Is there another level to come? There has to be. There always has to be another level. We need to improve things, yes. Lately we are good results but we know we need to improve in different areas.”
