At the start of the season, there are 16 teams in the top division looking behind them, making sure they avoid relegation. The fear starts in the boardroom, comes down to managers and through to players. The fans sense it.
Sentiment: POSITIVE
In my 20 years in football, I was fortunate enough never to have experienced relegation. And while there is the pressure of expectations at the top of the league, at the bottom it comes in fear and trepidation, which is almost worse.
It goes without saying that when you're the manager of a Premiership club, you go eight miles down the road and get beaten by a team two divisions below you, it's disappointing.
I think the players win the championship, and the organization has something to do with it, don't get me wrong. But don't try to put the organization above the players.
There is always going to be competition. When you play for a top club, you're going to attract top players. It's part and parcel of football.
I want to feel I can help the club to believe they are good, and I want to feel the fans knowing the team is good. Sometimes you don't believe that because in the past, you have not won as many titles like the other ones.
Why is it good for football to take the excitement away from fans by overcharging them for tickets to see their team?
I don't expect to see them in the top six but I think of all the teams that have come up in previous seasons, I think Manchester City are the biggest club.
We are Liverpool Football Club and the expectations are so high.
It's not so easy for us when we play teams who have a different mindset, like Chelsea or Inter Milan, because they have the intention of trying to stop us rather than playing a game that is more attractive for the spectators to enjoy.
I knew before I arrived that the pressure at a club that challenges for the title grows quickly. The season is long; we'll become stronger with every game.