Liverpool full-back Jon Flanagan has told talkSPORT the Reds are “ready to take on anyone”, and admits he and his team-mates are dreaming of the Premier League title.

The last of the club’s celebrated 18 first tier titles came back in 1990, while the closest the Merseyside outfit have recently come to the Premier League crown was under former boss Rafa Benitez in 2009, when they finished behind champions Manchester United by just four points.

Liverpool have failed to end the season in the top five since then, though the side have come on leaps and bounds under Brendan Rodgers and currently sit four points behind table-topping Chelsea.

Rodgers has repeatedly stated the team aren’t getting carried away with their lofty position in the table, but local boy Flanagan believes the scoring-for-fun Reds have the confidence to take their title rivals right to the wire.

“Nobody really talks about [the title] much, but it’s definitely something that’s in my mind and it’s probably in the other players’ minds as well,” he told Drivetime.

“But we’re just taking every game as it comes, we’ll keep pushing on and hopefully keep getting three points. If we’re still in this position with five games to go I think we’re in with a big shout.

“Our home form has been terrific this year, and with three big games at home still to come [against Chelsea, Manchester City and Tottenham] I think the advantage is on our side.

“They’ll be tough games but our confidence is high at the moment, we’re scoring a lot of goals in every game and we’re ready to take on anyone.”

Liverpool have played some of the most attractive football in the Premier League this season and lead the top flight’s scoring charts with 73 goals.

The form of prolific strike duo Luis Suarez and Daniel Sturridge has been a huge factor in the team’s rise up the rankings, netting 45 goals between them, and Flanagan was full of praise for the Uruguayan in particular.

He added: “When you’ve got Suarez and Sturridge up front, and Raheem Sterling as well, it doesn’t get much better than that, they’re the best in Europe at the minute, we know we’re going to score goals with our strike force.

“Luis is a top, top player. Every day in training he’s just hungry for it, he always wants to do that bit extra, he doesn’t want to miss a minute on the pitch.

“I just hope we can keep him!”