• Captain 'deserves' the one medal that eludes him, says striker • Results more important than performances now, says Sturridge

Daniel Sturridge has said that Liverpool's players are desperate to win the Premier League title for their long-serving captain, Steven Gerrard.

Liverpool, moved two points clear at the top of the table with Sunday's 4-0 thrashing of Tottenham Hotspur, and Sturridge admitted that an extra motivating factor for the squad is the prospect of Gerrard winning the Premier League for the first time. It is the one major club trophy Liverpool's captain is missing and Sturridge said the rest of the squad is determined to help Gerrard, 33, achieve his dream.

"If we win it, Stevie really deserves it, he should win the Premier League because of everything he has done for this club," Sturridge said. "Every player in this team will do their best to help him achieve that goal.

"He's just unbelievable every day, a great leader. He lives and dies for this club, he's been here his whole career and it's just a great pleasure to be able to play with him. He is the perfect example for every young player around the country – in fact a real example for every player.

"He's been so loyal to Liverpool – he has been world class and still is world class. Stevie will always be a legend not just for Liverpool, but to England as well. He will definitely go down in history as one of the best midfielders in the game, never mind just this club."

However, Sturridge urged Liverpool not to get ahead of themselves now that the Premier League title is in sight, and has admitted that results are more important than performances in their remaining six games.

Liverpool will win the league for the first time since 1990 if they win their final six matches. They have won their past eight matches and are the division's top scorers with 88 goals, which is largely down to Sturridge's deadly partnership with Luis Suárez.

Yet Sturridge, who has scored 20 league goals, struck a cautious note when he said that teams will seek to frustrate them during the run-in, pointing to the way that Sunderland defended deep at Anfield last Wednesday. Liverpool won that match 2-1 but endured some nervy moments.

"You saw it against Sunderland that teams will come and be really compact, and try to close down all the spaces against us," Sturridge said. "That makes it difficult. But from now it is all about the results, that's all that matters, so we won't worry about anything else.

"The important thing is just to keep working hard as a team and if we do that, I am sure we will continue to get the results. There are still six games to go, every one of them huge, so we will not get too excited just yet."