From the Echo
Ian Rush: Bridging gap will give our players so much self belief
THE bookies are never far away with their prices . . . and the odds on Liverpool to win the title have tumbled since the start of the season.
Nobody's going to get carried away in October, but the evidence is now starting to stack up.
We made a very good Chelsea team look ordinary on Sunday, and for me the most significant aspect of the win was that it was totally down to teamwork.
Last season we relied so heavily on Steven Gerrard and Fernando Torres, but now we've beaten Manchester United without either of them in the starting line-up, and also ended Chelsea's long unbeaten home record without Torres.
That not only gives the other players in the squad enormous self-belief, it also helps Stevie and Fernando by showing that the responsibility isn't always going to fall at their feet.
That could be a very significant development on last season.
As the match entered the final 20 minutes at Stamford Bridge I was anticipating a Chelsea cavalry charge, but if anything Liverpool looked even more dangerous in the closing stages.
The workrate was magnificent and if I was handing out a man the match award, I'd be giving it to the entire team.
Just as importantly, the post-match comments from the players shows that they don't appear to be getting too carried away by the win and are already focusing on tomorrow's visit of Portsmouth.
The next couple of home games are going to be very important.
Fans might be tempted to see the visit of managerless Portsmouth and newly promoted West Brom as 'gimmes', but they are exactly the kind of matches we've struggled with in the past.
And when you think that we needed late goals to see off Middlesbrough and Wigan, having conceded two goals to each of them, then it's clear that we will need to be absolutely focused and willing to work just as hard in order to collect maximum points.
The good thing is that the players and coaching staff don't seem to be showing any signs of getting carried away.
Things are looking promising, but while there's still an awful lot of hard work to be done, the current squad of players look like they're prepared to roll their sleeves up and do it.
Well it looks like we are facing two new clubs with two new managers at the helm. Arguably the worst time to play both sides.
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