Steven Gerrard believes "success is around the corner" for Liverpool if they manage to improve their record against the smaller teams.

Jurgen Klopp's men finished fourth in the Premier League table in 2016-17, a huge 17 points behind champions Chelsea.

They impressed against the top teams, though, as they remained unbeaten against their top-six rivals and Gerrard is confident they are on the right track.

"We have got a fantastic manager at the helm. I think Liverpool are very, very close," Gerrard told BT Sport.

"If you look at the statistics in the top six, they are the best team in terms of head-to-head.

"Liverpool know where they need to improve and it is the consistency against the teams that are maybe in the bottom half of the table, the teams that sit narrow and compact and are difficult to break down.

"Hopefully we can get the two or three pieces of the jigsaw that are missing. I am really confident Liverpool can keep moving forward and success can be just round the corner."