A buoyant Jurgen Klopp believes Liverpool are primed and ready to last the pace in the Premier League title race as he declared: “My players are on fire.”

The Reds boss has spelt out exactly what's required during the run-in which starts with Sunday's crunch clash with Tottenham at Anfield.

With seven matches to play, Klopp's men find themselves two points clear of rivals Manchester City, who have a game in hand.

If City win at lowly Fulham on Saturday then the Reds will need to beat Mauricio Pochettino's side in order to regain top spot.

Asked what qualities would be vital over the coming weeks, Klopp said: “I don’t know the English word, is it resilient?

“Being kind of stubborn, doing the right things again and again and again. Dig in and stay in. That’s it. It's all there.

“The good thing is do I have to talk about motivation with the boys? Of course not. They are all on fire.

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“We had a big training squad yesterday. There were 21 players and only two kids involved and usually we have five or six kids involved in the training sessions.

“It means they are coming back fighting for minutes on the pitch. It’s all there what you need, but on the other hand you need to be stable and clear and not going nuts, not trying too hard, try it like we tried it all the time.

“When we have the ball we try to create a chance, we try to score. When we don’t have the ball then we defend with all we have.

“The things you did that brought you here, you have to do it again and again and again. That’s it. You cannot change now, why should we? That’s our way and let's continue on that part.”

City have the experience of last season's record-breaking triumph when they accumulated a haul of 100 points.

But Liverpool have the burning hunger and desire of trying to end the club's 29-year wait for the Holy Grail. Klopp doesn't fear that a lack of title winners in his dressing room will count against the Reds.

“I never understand that because there is always a first time,” he said.

“Is it better to know how you did it last year? Yeah probably or how you did it a couple of years ago, yes maybe it’s better, but there is always a first time.

“For a lot of City’s players, last season was their first time. We cannot buy it, make transfers and bring in players who are used to winning leagues.

“It’s not possible so we don’t think about that. I don’t know if it is an advantage or not or if the desire is bigger.

“City unfortunately don’t look like they don’t want to win the league because they had it last year, they look on fire. It’s nothing I’m concerned about.”

(Image: Andrew Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

With Liverpool a massive 18 points clear of fifth placed Manchester United, they are close to mathematically guaranteeing themselves a top-four finish for the third successive season under Klopp.

The manager knows that sights are currently set much higher than simply Champions League qualification, but it's another sign of the club's thrilling progression that it's been achieved this time around with a minimum of fuss. The financial rewards will help ensure the Reds kick on again this summer.

“I don’t compare seasons but if we go in the Champions League for a third consecutive year then that is big,” he added.

“It’s the most important thing for this club. We need the money to do our things and stuff like that. That’s absolutely brilliant.

“Going through the group stage against Napoli was massive, now the next round against Bayern was massive and now we have a quarter-final.

“The Champions League is so far a success story for us and hopefully it will stay like that.

“Qualification is the most important thing and hopefully we can do that. I didn’t know how many points we needed but we all fight the whole season for that.

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“We are not too worried but I don’t celebrate it already because we know for a while that people are not 100% satisfied if we qualify for the Champions League.

“They want us to be first, top of the table after the last match day. We know that, that’s what we want as well but we know there is quite a way to go still.”