Former Liverpool defender Alan Hansen has claimed that finishing second in the Premier League would no longer be considered a success for the club.

Brendan Rodgers's side moved two points clear at the top of the standings following their 4-0 victory over Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Sunday.

Hansen, who captained Liverpool to their last league title in 1990, believes that his former club will claim their first Premier League crown.

"Anyone who says that finishing second will constitute a great season is talking rubbish. The Liverpool ethos was always to adhere to the maxim that first is first and second is nowhere and, even after a 24 year wait, that remains the case," he wrote in The Telegraph.

"A club of Liverpool's standing and history are all about winning trophies and titles, so they have to go on and win it now. Even I am starting to feel that Liverpool will win it this season.

"I should know better because, until you have experienced and endured the pressures of a run-in, it is impossible to predict how it will go. From this point on, it really does become a test of nerve for everybody involved - players, coaches and supporters."

Liverpool travel to West Ham United on Saturday.