Roy Keane warns Liverpool now at risk of becoming Premier League 'laughing stock'

Roy Keane has warned Liverpool they will be a laughing stock if they don't win the Premier League title this season.

The Reds comfortably defeated Manchester City on Sunday to go 11 points clear at the top of the table. Closest challengers Arsenal were beaten by West Ham on Saturday to leave their hopes of overhauling Arne Slot's side in tatters.

The Gunners do have a game in hand on the runaway leaders, with Slot's men having only 11 matches left to play. It leaves the Reds on the cusp of winning their first title for five years in what is Slot's first season in charge.

But Keane has urged them to keep their focus despite their large lead at the top of the table. He warned they risk becoming a 'laughing stock' if they don't go on to lift the title come May.

“It’s more exciting for the neutral when it’s a bit tight but when you’re in the dressing room and you’re that much clear it’s fantastic,” Keane told Sky Sports. "You go 11 (clear) and a little bit later you want to be further ahead.

“You have to have that bit of tension in the dressing room saying if you slip up now, you’ll be a laughing stock. You look at the players getting interviewed afterwards and they are probably lowkey about it but in the dressing room you know what a big result this is.

"The manager knows, the opposition will know, but you still have to kick on. You are reminding people about being complacent and being on your toes. You’d have good squad members and obviously the manager would do it, the senior players would do it to make sure you don’t slack off in training.

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“You look at some of the fixtures and you’re playing Southampton at home, but you treat Southampton like you’re playing Real Madrid; you treat teams with respect. If they keep carrying on doing what they’re doing.

"Liverpool don’t have to do anything extraordinary, just do what you’re doing, be efficient. Two goals a game is a big one, it’s a simple message saying if you get them, which you have been doing all season anyway, you are guaranteed to win the league.”

Slot is well aware that his side cannot lose focus, instead insisting that there remain risks to Liverpool's title challenge. He said: "In every other league, I think a lead like this would be very comfortable.

"Except for this one because in this league every single game gives you a lot of challenges, even Plymouth Argyle gave us a lot of challenges. If you play away at the Etihad, if you win there it is always a big win, no matter what the league table looks like.

"The fans can sing whatever they want, I think they’ve sung it for quite long already, but we know as a team how hard we have to work for every single win. It was only three days ago, somebody asked me if we’d had a dip on Wednesday. I don’t believe that as well as I am calm now about this win."

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