Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SHIVER MERSEY? THAT’S NONSENSE SAYS REDS LEGEND STEVE MCMANAMAN
‘A Scouser might feel the heat more but this side is full of experienced foreign players who can handle the pressure’
STEVE MCMANAMAN reckons Liverpool will keep their heads to triumph in the title race this season.
Jurgen Klopp’s side are feeling the heat after wasting the chance to go seven points clear at the summit to being second on goal difference in less than a week.
Back-to-back draws have allowed Manchester City to regain top spot and opened the door for Tottenham to get back into the frame in third.
Mcmanaman was part of the title-chasing Reds side that collapsed with seven games to go in the 1996-97 season.
But the former winger does not believe the current team’s blip is down to buckling under the pressure.
He said: “I think pressure is nonsense to be honest. If Liverpool win by five at the weekend then you aren’t going to talk about pressure, are you?
“These players have played in World Cups and they lost the Champions League final.
“Mo Salah carries his country on his own shoulders. But I think you’d find more pressure on a Scouser in there because of the club’s history.
“The front three are from different parts of the world and I don’t think there’s a huge amount of pressure.”
Another Anfield icon is not panicking either ahead of Bournemouth’s visit today.
“I don’t get what people are talking about. Liverpool are level on points at the top of the league with a game in hand,” said goalscoring great Robbie Fowler.
“There are going to be loads of twists and turns between now and the end of the season.
“When you want to win the league and you haven’t won it before, it might be a different pressure but the pressure is always there.”
Jason Mcateer, however, who played alongside both Mcmanaman and Fowler at Anfield is concerned as the Reds chase their first league title since 1990.
He said: “It is like in any sport. If you are a golfer and trying to win your first Major, going down the stretch with three holes to play and you have a two-shot lead all kind of thoughts creep into your head.
“It is human nature. It is elite sport. It is a very difficult time and these days with social media it is very difficult to escape the pressure.”
The trio were all part of a Liverpool side that collapsed as they pushed for the title 22 years ago.
They could have gone top when they played Coventry with seven games to go, but surprisingly lost before further defeats to eventual champions Manchester United then Wimbledon left them licking their wounds in fourth place.
“I made my debut in 1990 with everybody who had won it,” added Mcmanaman.
“So at 16, 17, I was with them all the time in the dressing room, travelling to away games, seeing them win trophies, seeing them win titles, not being a part of it but being the 15th or 16th man.
“I felt as if it was just the norm, this is what we do. So it was easy for me. It certainly wasn’t pressure on my part in 1996-97, and when I looked around the dressing room I don’t think it was pressure.”
Mcateer, though, still sees it differently. “Leading from the front is very difficult,” he said.
“For me, the Coventry and Wimbledon games still stick in my mind 22 years later.”
ON Saturday, March 23, the LFC Foundation plays the AC Milan Legends at Anfield in a third official LFC Foundation Legends game. Tickets are £22 adults, £5 juniors, £15 over-65s, from www.liverpoolfc. com