Virgil van Dijk insists Liverpool can handle mounting pressure in the Premier League title race.
Arne Slot’s side restored their seven-point advantage at the summit with Sunday’s 2-1 win over Wolves but the encounter was beset by late nerves inside Anfield.
The narrow victory came just four days after the Reds missed out on the chance to move nine points clear as they were denied maximum points against Everton.
But Van Dijk believes the current leaders are able to withstand the anxiety ahead of another defining week in which they travel to Aston Villa and Manchester City.
He said: “It is easier to say than actually do.
“We are all human beings and I totally understand anxiety or nervousness can kick in.
“I said it weeks ago, we just have to buckle up, enjoy the ride. There will be a lot of twists and turns.
“If you’re not ready for it, it will be a difficult couple of months for you but I feel like we as a team are ready for it.
“We will give it everything we’ve got and we will see in 13 games if that is enough.”
A win at Villa Park on Wednesday will see Liverpool move 10 points clear of Arsenal, albeit having played a game more due to Carabao Cup final involvement.
Van Dijk, however, is unsure whether the double-figure margin would help set down a psychological marker for Slot’s charges in their battle with the north Londoners.
“I don’t know about that, because I don’t know how others would think,” added the Liverpool captain.
“I can only say what I think and what I tell the boys to do and what I think is good to do because I’ve been through this whole situation and been coming short as well twice.
“It is difficult to say; certain players in our team might watch other teams but it is not going to help you. The only thing you have to do is just focus on us, let’s try to win every game ahead of us and if we do that then obviously we have success.
“But we have to put all our energy in only ourselves and that is hard enough already – you saw how Wolves made it difficult for us in the second half and on Wednesday it will be very difficult again.
“If you focus on other things or look at others it is only going to backfire so we keep going.”