Javier : Its time to build momentum
Javier Mascherano is hoping Liverpool can bolster their title challenge with what he believes would be an all-important victory against Chelsea on Sunday.
The Argentina international feels three points against one of their nearest rivals would provide the squad with a huge lift following a run of four straight draws.
The Blues leapfrogged Liverpool into second-spot on Wednesday night but the midfielder is adamant that victory over Luiz Felipe Scolari's men would ensure the Reds can still a have a big say in the title race.
He said: "If we start to win from Sunday and go on a good run until the end of the season then we will have a good chance of winning the title.
"It is all about building momentum and also building a belief that we can win it, and the only way you can do that is by winning games so we all know just how important the game against Chelsea is.
"It no longer depends just on us and what we do because Manchester United are in the lead and this means it also depends on their results, but if we can win on Sunday it will give us a chance to capitalise if they drop any points.
"All we can do is concentrate on our own games and not worry about anyone else because if we get our own game right then it will give us a better chance of taking advantage if United or anyone else slips up.
"We can still fight for the title. It is definitely not finished."
Rafael Benitez's men are currently two points behind leaders Manchester United following Wednesday night's 1-1 draw at Wigan, with the Reds having played a game more.
Mascherano admits it was a frustrating night at the JJB Stadium but feels his teammates must focus on the next match against the Londoners and not dwell on dropped points.
"We were all massively disappointed because it was a really bad result for us," admitted the Argentina captain.
"We know that we have a lot of games still to come, but we felt it was really important to win against Wigan and the fact that we failed to do so is a big disappointment.
"I think we did everything to win the game and I cannot remember Wigan having any shots on our goal.
"I think we did okay for 80 minutes, but in the last 10 minutes we allowed them to score and it felt like the world was against us.
"But now we must prepare for a really big game against Chelsea and we need to look forward to this game and not look back to what happened against Wigan.
"It is difficult, but we are professional players and we need to focus on the next game and also to remember that there are a lot of games still to come."
Despite losing just once in the league this season, the Reds have often struggled to strike a killer blow, notching up nine draws from 23 games played.
Mascherano admits that they have had trouble breaking sides down but insists there is nothing to be gained from claiming opposition teams are stopping the Reds from playing their normal game.
"We can't use how teams play at Anfield as an excuse," he said.
"We know a lot of sides come to defend, but we need to find spaces and a way that we can beat them.
"It is not their fault that they play like that, so I don't like to talk about excuses.
"If a team defends more when they play against us then we need to find a way around that.
"But like the Wigan game, those games that we have drawn are in the past and now we must focus only on Chelsea because we know that we need to win."
