There is an air of confidence around Liverpool right now, but Jordan Henderson insists they are not getting carried away.
A tilt at the Premier League title had never been part of Brendan Rodgers' plan this season, but their recent form has given them a real chance of a first championship since 1990.
Saturday's 3-0 victory at Southampton - the only side to have won at Anfield this season - extended their winning streak to four matches, seeing them climb above Manchester City and Arsenal into second.
Just four points separate them from leaders Chelsea and Liverpool's travelling fans chanted 'we're going to win the league' at St Mary's - talk that midfielder Henderson attempted to move away from.
"We have just got to keep our feet on the ground," the England international said.
"We are very confident but at the same time there is a long way to go so we have just got to take each game as it comes.
"We've got some quality players here and are working very well, so we will take each game as it comes and see where we finish."
Victory at Southampton was the ideal start to a run of three successive away matches, with Luis Suarez marking his 100th league appearance for the Reds by opening the scoring at St Mary's.
The hosts responded impressively but Liverpool held firm, adding extra gloss to the scoreline as substitute Raheem Sterling and captain Steven Gerrard netted in a dominant second-half display.
"I think the win was really important with the break coming up," Henderson told the club's official website, www.liverpoolfc.com.
"Coming here we knew it would be a very difficult game for us and it was a really important game for us to stay up there at the top so we're over the moon with the three points and the performance.
"We knew we'd come under pressure at some point because they're a good team with good players and we knew at some point we would have to deal with some pressure.
"But I thought we handled them quite well. They had a few chances and Simon [Mignolet] made a great save, but I think in the second half we dealt with it better and created some good chances."
Liverpool have now scored three or more on 16 occasions this season, with their tally of 73 goals from 28 matches making them the Premier League's top scorers.
It is at the back where the problems lie, though, with only four teams having kept fewer clean sheets heading into Saturday's match, making the shut-out at St Mary's particularly poignant.
"It was really important for us to get a clean sheet," Henderson added.
"I think we've been disappointed with some of the goals we've conceded over the last few weeks and have worked on it in training - and I think you could see that.
"The defenders were outstanding, Simon was very outstanding and as a team defensively we were very good."
Source: PA
