Javier Mascherano claims Liverpool's troubles are nothing compared to World Cup campaign with Argentina

Javier Mascherano claims he can handle the pressure at Liverpool after the ordeal of Argentina's nerve-shredding World Cup campaign.

Mascherano says the stress of getting to South Africa with his homeland was even worse than coping with Liverpool's troubles.

Argentina's poor qualifying form sparked a national crisis in the football-mad South American country before they managed to scrape through to next summer's finals under Diego Maradona.

Rafa Benitez has told Mascherano to think of Argentina every time he looks at the Premier League table and the little midfield general says this gives him inspiration.

"We were talking about this and it has been good for me to have that experience," he said.

"The pressure with Argentina to get them into the World Cup was worse. Not because it is my country and Liverpool are my club, but because here you have a little bit more time to do the right things.

"We know that we have to keep winning if we want to be in the top four, but we have a game every week to do that.

"With Argentina, I would go for two games then have three or four months to wait for the next one to put things right."

The table looks a little better for Liverpool after beating Wigan to register only their fourth win in their last 16 games and Mascherano says it is a start.

He claims the victory has given them a much-needed confidence boost and he hopes they can take this into tomorrow's lunchtime kick-off at Portsmouth.

"It has been difficult and the most important thing was to win because we needed it," he said. "We want to play better and improve, so it is important that we keep going.

"We will see if we can win at Portsmouth and if we can do that, it would be three amazing points.

"There has been a little bit of pressure on us, but top players have that all the time.

"I know at this moment all the players feel a little bit of pressure, but the top players are used to having that pressure and doing well."

Mascherano believes Liverpool can kick on now that key men Steven Gerrard, Fernando Torres and Alberto Aquilani are all available.

The Reds looked no better than a mid-table side without those three and Mascherano is praying they stay injury free for the second half of the campaign.

"The problem for us this season is that we have had so many injuries and two of them were Stevie and Fernando," he said. "They are our most important players.

"We have to give them time to be 100 per cent and it's important to have them in the squad as they are really important for us. We've been really worried as we want them in the team."

Liverpool badly miss Torres' goals and his strike against Wigan was his 61st on his 100th appearance for the club.

Mascherano said: "It's so important for us that Fernando stays fit. We know that we can win games when he's not playing but, equally, when he's on the pitch, you can see the respect that other teams give him.

"He causes them so many problems. With Fernando and Stevie on the pitch, we know that there is always a chance something special can happen. It is so good for our team and the confidence they give us.

"When they are not in the squad, others have to do their job and David Ngog has been doing his job really well. But the key players are the key players and you cannot change that. We need to keep the key players fit for the rest of the season."