STEVEN GERRARD has seen just 90 minutes of new-look Liverpool. Yet he is already convinced they have the firepower to leave Chelsea and Manchester United fearing the worst. Gerrard played in a strong line-up which beat Werder Bremen 3-2 in Switzerland on Tuesday evening in their first serious warm-up. And he reckons the Premier League’s big two will have a serious fight on their hands when the real action kicks off.The Anfield skipper insisted: “I’ve watched what the other teams are doing in the market and they’re all strengthening. “But all those teams will be looking at us and thinking we are going to be all over them this season. “I’m not going to start making any unnecessary predictions about what’s going to happen this season and the last thing any of us need to do is build hopes up too much. “But without doubt, if we all perform to our level each week, we have the players to push United and Chelsea all the way.
“We are looking in great shape, not only going into this season but for the next few years. “I thought going away for the summer that we were three or four players away from where we need to be. “Now I think we are in a great place to challenge United and Chelsea and I hope if we get things right from the beginning we can beat them to the big prizes this year.”
Liverpool handed debuts to Fernando Torres, Yossi Benayoun and Ryan Babel in the win over Bremen. Andriy Voronin stole the show with two goals, yet it is the signing of Torres — who cost a club record £21.5m from Atletico Madrid — that has really delighted Gerrard. He added: “When we sign a striker I look at the defensive pairings of United and Chelsea and ask if we’ve signed a player who is going to cause them all sorts of problems.
“I did it with Torres and ended up with a smile on my face because I don’t think anyone will enjoy playing against him. “He’s a great talent and it’s a massive statement to the rest of the division. “I’ve liked the way we’ve done business this summer. Previous years have shown how important it is to sort everything early in the pre-season, as it’s not easy for players if they arrive just before the deadline. “It makes it harder for them to settle. It’s important we get off to a good start and that’s going to be a lot easier if we have everyone here as soon as possible.
“Hopefully with everyone having had the right amount of rest this summer we’ll be able to hit the ground running when the Premiership begins. People say you can’t win the league in August but I believe you can certainly lose it in the first month. “It’s fine saying it’s a nine-month season and there is plenty of time to recover from a shaky start but it’s hard playing catch-up week-in, week-out.
“The last thing you want to do is give teams like Manchester United and Chelsea a head start, making things even more difficult for you than they are already. “As footballers, we understand you’re going to have to put it in during July to get your levels back to where they should be. “But credit to the Spanish backroom staff, they know how to do it quickly, as painlessly as possible.
“I missed a bit of the last pre-season because of the World Cup. I came back and felt I needed more holiday. “I was mentally and physically drained at the start of the season but this time I feel I’ve had a break and we will go into the season brimming with confidence.”
