While many within the Liverpool squad are still in the fledgling stages of their Anfield careers, there is also a healthy contingent of seasoned campaigners who have been here, won that.

Saturday's 2-0 win at Bournemouth was something of a statement victory given the likes of Arsenal, Manchester City and third-place Nottingham Forest have all been sent packing from the Vitality Stadium with nothing to show for their efforts this term.

The fact that Andoni Iraola's side also came into it on a club-record unbeaten stretch of 11 games and with Champions League pretensions of their own meant the fixture was being built up immensely in the days preceding it.

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So it would be understandable if players like Alexis Mac Allister, Dominik Szoboszlai or Ryan Gravenberch felt that a major step towards the Premier League crown had been taken on the south coast. All three, alongside Wataru Endo, have only been at the club since the summer of 2023 and are yet to truly find themselves embroiled in a title quest until the dying embers as Reds players.

Cody Gakpo, signed from PSV Eindhoven two years ago, is another in that same boat, while none of Ibrahima Konate, Luis Diaz, Darwin Nunez, Kostas Tsimikas or Diogo Jota were part of the squad who won the title in 2020.

Fortunately for Arne Slot, his Liverpool contingent is still littered with experienced old pros when it comes to navigating such critical periods and while the Reds have lifted the championship just once in 35 years, many within the current crop know exactly what it takes to finish with the sort of point hauls that would almost certainly lead to glory this time out.

Virgil van Dijk, Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Andy Robertson and Joe Gomez were all part of the Liverpool squads that earned 97, 99 and 92 points between 2019 and 2022, while younger players like Curtis Jones and Harvey Elliott were on the scene when that 30-year wait for league title No.19 ended five years ago.

With so many important figures in the squad, there is little chance of the Reds' nine-point gap - which stands prior to Arsenal's visit from Manchester City on Sunday - leading to inflated egos and complacency at the most inopportune of times. Van Dijk, in fact, is making it his personal mission to ensure that does not happen.

"Of course we (2020 title winners) have to share our experience," says Van Dijk. "That is part of life in general, not only football. Cody mentioned as well that I said we have to stay calm. It is important.

"The most important thing is to put all your full focus on what is ahead of you. That is what we did. Majority of us had rested but all had focus on Bournemouth.

"We deal with every opponent with the utmost respect because they deserve it. They won 5-0 against Nottingham Forest last week which said a lot, we had to be ready to suffer here and show our quality.

"Hopefully at the end of the season we can say that (this was a statement win at Bournemouth). There’s so many games to play now, different competitions and we need everyone. Now we have a couple of days off and we focus fully on turning the tie around against Spurs at home which will be difficult.

"But I am looking forward to it. Then we will see at the end if certain games are statement wins but there is no point to put a label on any game. Anything can happen.

"Yeah, it was a big one. A big win, a difficult win. This is a team in very good form with a clear idea of playing. Even when they have had a lot of injuries we have seen how difficult they make it for the traditional big six and other teams. Today was always going to be tough and we have done well. 2-0 and a clean sheet is very nice."

Liverpool's unbeaten record in the Premier League now stands at 19 games, dating back to their sole defeat of the campaign to date, at home to Nottingham Forest in September.

It's those levels of consistency that has them so well placed with a game in hand to come at Everton later this month, and at a time when their title rivals are struggling to put together similarly impressive sequences, such a quality could yet prove to be defining in the search for the biggest prize in English football.

Van Dijk adds: "[It's down to] hard work. It starts with that. Never settle for anything other than that. We have to work our socks off. Every game is difficult, every team has a lot of quality and can punish you.

"Keep working hard, keep running and keep putting your body on the line. Eventually show your quality on the ball. We have shown that over the months all season. We still take it game by game."

Now with 301 Liverpool appearances under his belt, club captain Van Dijk is perfectly positioned to lead the current crop into the final third of the season and his message to his team-mates from here on in is a simple one.

"Why should we look at the table? It is February 1st!" he says. "Just focus on the games we have ahead. Big or close gap, we still just have to win our games. That is the only thing we have an influence on. Let’s see what it brings."