Irvine: We won’t fall apart because Liverpool are chasing us

Paul Walker

The Toffees are 10 points clear of sixth-placed Middlesbrough and seven ahead of their nearest challengers, Liverpool.

Defeats for Middlesbrough, Charlton and Tottenham this week the teams struggling to keep in touch with Everton and Liverpool have turned the race for fourth place and the potential £20 million Champions League pay-off into a Merseyside battle. However, after the Toffees' 1-0 win over Norwich, Irvine believes they can handle the pressure.

"I am not worried that they are going to collapse under the pressure we know these lads," he said. "Whether we win enough games to get what we want, time will tell, but we won't fall apart because Liverpool are chasing us. It is important that our players are mentally strong, but I do believe they are very strong physically as well as mentally, and the team spirit is fantastic."

Liverpool had turned up the heat on their neighbours with a fine win at Charlton on Tuesday, but Everton responded with a slightly fortuitous victory 24 hours later.

Irvine said: "We have to do our job properly. If we don't, what looks like a nice cushion to have can be eaten away very quickly. Had we not been able to do our job against Norwich then suddenly a seven-point lead that appears to be considerable becomes a four-point lead which is certainly not considerable.

"I'm sure Liverpool were desperate for us to lose, but we didn't put any extra pressure on the players. Our job was to go out and win the game, regardless of Liverpool's win at Charlton the night before. From our point of view, we would have preferred a draw for Liverpool at Charlton, but had Alan Curbishley's side won that match they would have been the side four points behind us.

"I suppose it is always at the back of our minds, so we made sure we did our bit right by beating Norwich."

Irvine knows the pressure is bound to get even more intense in the run-in to the end of the season.

"This is going to happen now week after week," he predicted. "Everybody will be looking at whether it's seven points, four points or even a 10-point lead, because that is what will happen if we win one weekend and Liverpool lose. We feel we have to win home games anyway, so there was no extra pressure on us because of Liverpool's result. We haven't set a target. You know the points average for fourth spot in the Premiership is about 66-67, and for a place in the UEFA Cup something like 63. Those are the averages, and if we can get to those sort of figures it will be fantastic."

Meanwhile, Liverpool's French youngster Anthony Le Tallec has admitted it was a big mistake to confront new boss Rafael Benitez with a summer demand for regular first team action. Benitez had barely warmed the Anfield hot seat when he was having to handle the French U21 star's request to be in the first team more often. It ended with Le Tallec leaving for a season's loan at St Etienne, which has been terminated with the attacker back in the Liverpool fold and determined to fight for his place.

"Things went wrong for me over there. The manager changed the system of play and I got an injury which kept me out for two months. It just didn't work out for me at all.

"Looking back now, it was the wrong decision for me to have made. I should have stayed here and fought for my place. I am young and I just wanted to play."