“Second best is not going to cut it for me anymore” - Fernando Torres

Fernando Torres has called upon his Liverpool teammates to make this year the one Liverpool wins the Premier League.

The former Atletico Madrid man was blunt in saying in his interview: “It has to be this season. There is no room for excuses any more.

"We have experience and, if we don’t bring the title back to Anfield, I won’t be offering up any excuses at the end of the season.”

The 25-year-old striker is confident that Rafa Benitez’s squad is good enough to swing the balance of football power from Manchester and London back to the glory days at the Merseyside.

He added: “We don’t need to improve a lot on last season to win the title.

"There is only a slight improvement needed to give the fans and players the title they have wanted for so many years now. This is the best Liverpool team there has been in years. That is what many of the experienced players are saying.

"And now is our time. Second-best is just not going to cut it with me any more.”

He said: “After Harry Redknapp took over last season, Spurs showed real talent but, more importantly, consistency.

"We need to turn draws into wins at places like White Hart Lane. If we win these sorts of game two or three times a season, that will be enough for the title. Tottenham have some very good defenders but I am feeling fit and sharp and ready to score goals.

"A good start is important. You don’t want to be chasing the others from day one, so, for me, this is a game we must look at as being a must-win clash.

"Anything else and we will go back disappointed.”

Yet last season’s 17-goal hitman is aware that the real test for Benitez’s outfit will come in the last quarter of the campaign.

He went on to add: “The first three-quarters is all about talent and ability. But the winners are the team that handle the pressure in that final quarter.

"Manchester United know what it is like to have to handle that pressure. That is where I feel we will improve this season.”

“The fans at Liverpool are great and, when I am in the city, they come and shake my hand and say nice things. I don’t want to walk around showing off in front of them.”

He would love, though, to be showing off both the Premier League and Champions League trophies inside Anfield and from an open top bus around the city next summer. Torres admitted: “Of course, the Champions League is a big priority for me and the rest of the team. It’s a trophy this club is famous for winning and there is no reason why we can’t do it again this year.

"To go out in the knockout stage hurts and I hate losing.

"I am not one who gets angry or kicks things. I just sit there in the dressing room with my head in my hands not saying anything.

"My biggest motivation for winning is remembering how I feel when I lose.

"When Portugal knocked Spain out of Euro 2004, I was sat in the dressing room not knowing what to do.

"Raul came up to me and said ‘If you don’t want to feel like this again, make sure you do everything you can to be a winner’.

"That advice has stuck in my head ever since.”

Liverpool travel to London to take on Harry Redknapp’s Spurs tomorrow at 4 pm at White Hart Lane for their first game of the Premier League.

Torres is undoubtedly aware that Sunday’s opening game against Tottenham is precisely the sort of match the Reds have to win if they are to become league champions.