Nuno Espirito Santo was quick to play down Nottingham Forest's chances of winning the Premier League title before hosting league leaders Liverpool on Tuesday.
Forest sit in third place heading into the meeting at the City Ground, level on points with Arsenal and six behind Arne Slot's side.
They have won each of their last six Premier League games, while victory over Liverpool will see them equal their longest ever run of seven wins, achieved four times previously (February 1893, December 1906, October 1921 and September 1979).
Forest remain the only team to have beaten Liverpool at the top level this season, after Slot inflicted the Reds' first defeat in charge in a 1-0 win in September, giving them their first Premier League away win at Anfield since February 1969.
Liverpool manager Slot said in his pre-match press conference that Forest were real title contenders this season, but Nuno remained focused on Tuesday's match and not on the outside noise.
“When we start thinking about if… it's like, if, if, if. That's why we always try to approach how we're going to prepare, how we're going to play the game. At the end of the game, there's there will be no ifs,” Nuno said.
“We try to ignore what's around us as much as possible. We never change, it's the way we see things, it's the way we see the competition, it's the way we see life. Focus day after day on our tasks Tomorrow is another difficult one.
“When we do things well, we should be satisfied, but too many compliments can distract us, so we don't want to pay too much attention to them.
“We are here to compete against all teams and I think we are doing well, but nothing changes in our approach, which remains the same.
“We know what we can do and how we want to do things. We know each other, our strengths and weaknesses. So let's play the game.”
Nuno also revealed he had no special plan for Liverpool talisman Mohamed Salah, who scored two goals in four games against Forest in the top flight.
Salah has been in good form for Slot's side this season, scoring an impressive 31 goals (18 goals, 13 assists) in the 19 games he has played so far.
16 of the Egyptian's 18 goals in the Premier League this season have come in the second half. In the history of the competition, only Salah himself has scored more for Liverpool in a single season after half-time (18 in 2017/18).
However, Nuno highlighted the quality of Liverpool's squad across the pitch and also recognized their performances in the Champions League and Premier League.
“Salah, Diaz, Gakpo, Mac Allister, Gravenberch, Van Dijk, Konate, Trent… quality everywhere. A fantastic team,” Nuno added.
“They have shown how good they are not only in the Premier League, but also in Europe.
“It's about realizing this and approaching the game with the real respect that is required to play against Liverpool.”
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