STEVEN GERRARD believes his players will go into Sunday's Scottish Premiership clash against Aberdeen with confidence high but he insists they will need to be at their very best if they want to keep building on their recent momentum in the Granite City.
The Light Blues' have won 14 league games on the bounce as they prepare for this weekend's visit to Pittodrie and while that is a run that understandably pleases Gerrard he insists he would rather focus on the big challenges coming up for his squad rather than reflect on previous results and performances.
The manager, speaking at his pre-match press conference this morning, confirmed that both Kemar Roofe and Scott Arfield will miss the big game against the Dons as they recover from injuries but he is looking forward to the 90 minutes coming up against Derek McInnes' men.
He said: "They are a good team and they have got good players. They have players returning from injury and they obviously had a few that were missing due to Covid situations over the last couple of fixtures I think it was, so it's always going to be a tough challenge.
"Derek is a good coach and he has the team well-drilled. He squeezes every little bit out of his players in terms of having them ready to compete, and they have got players that can really hurt you.
"So my respect for Aberdeen and what we are going to face is certainly there. Having said that, we are going up to Pittodrie and we went up there at the beginning of the season and performed ever so well. It was a really calm atmosphere, very different to a normal Pittodrie, and we went up there and deserved our victory.
"We are looking to try and do the same thing. We're going up there for three points and looking for a performance that deserves the three points. I believe if we can get close to our best, we're confident we can get what we want.
"I've got total belief and confidence in my players, I always have had. We've just beat a very good team last week in Celtic, we've won 14 on the spin and we're unbeaten in terms of the league, so that gives me confidence and belief that we are in a good place.
"But I know as well as anyone that form is only temporary, you've got to keep pushing and you've got to keep trying to max out, raise the bar and face every challenge that comes our way.
"It's very important we stay in the now and we don't live in the past or too far in the future. The now is a tough challenge against Aberdeen so we're ready, we've prepared, we've had a bit of extra training time which has been helpful, and we reset and get ready to try and win three points."
The manager started his press conference by providing a injury update on his squad.
He said: "Scott [Arfield] is about to come out of a boot that he's been in since the injury. He's got an ankle ligament injury so it's quite a significant one. He's progressing well and it's about moving the rehab forward now and progressing that. But obviously in the short-term Scott will be missing.
"There is better news on Ryan Jack, who has been outside now for two or three pitch sessions and he's progressing extremely well. He should be with the team some time towards the middle of next week.
"Jordan Jones is pretty similar to Ryan in terms of a return time. Jordan, coming back after his ban, has picked a calf injury up but he's due to be back with the team the middle of next week as well.
"George Edmundson is off to see a specialist. He's got a bit of a niggle around his hip and abductor area that we need to get a specialist opinion on. I'll know more on George in a couple of days.
"Nikola Katic is progressing well. He's had a little bit of a break back home but he's obviously back with us now and progressing well.
"Kemar won't be with us at the weekend. He's one that has obviously picked up an injury in the Old Firm. It's difficult to put a date on that one just yet, but I predict he could miss a couple of games."