GRAEME SOUNESS: Why Liverpool have it tougher in the Premier League run-in than Man City and Arsenal

The Premier League is back – and to quote that wonderful line of Alex Ferguson’s we’ve now entered squeaky bum time.

All those involved in one of the tightest three-way titles races we’ve ever seen in the Premier League will have been sitting with everything crossed during the international break - praying players come back unscathed, filling the endless hours by analysing their last eight or nine games to death.

It seems an important moment to discuss emotion and how to deal with it - because Liverpool, who I’ve had a sneaking feeling all along might win this title, are going to have to deal with almost unprecedented levels of it, in Jurgen Klopp’s last five home games as manager. Clinching a second league title in four years will depend on how well they can cope with that, starting this weekend.

The extraordinary emotion which makes Anfield such a spiritual place has always been fuel for Liverpool in the big games. But after Jurgen’s nine years at the club, this is different.

Everyone there so desperately wants him to walk away on a high and the crowd’s emotion will bring a form of pressure that Manchester City and Arsenal won’t have to deal with in the seven weeks ahead. Believe me, that will be hard for these Liverpool players.

How do you deal with it? By rising above, it, remaining focussed on the job in hand and not getting caught up in this sub-plot. It means the bigger players keeping the lesser lights focussed on the job in hand. But it also means Liverpool being able to deal with going a goal behind and suffering little setbacks – which each of these three title contenders will inevitably face between now and the moment the title is won.

Dealing with those setbacks helped the Liverpool team I played for win the