Liverpool have fought hard in the opening stages of what has been a harsh campaign so far, with the side lingering in 5th in the Premier League as the title already starts to slip away from them.
Andoni Iraola's side are nine points off league leaders Arsenal, a side they lost 1-0 to before failing to bounce back against Fenerbahce this week in another drab performance as the club fell to a 3-2 defeat.
The Reds have shown flashes of brilliance as the project starts to come together, but the side have also exposed their weaknesses in several poor performances where a lack of inspiration and firepower have become genuine issues.
Isak has found his footing
As the bumpy start continues, Heskey spoke with Eldorado about the man leading Liverpool's attack, Alexander Isak. The striker has been criticised for his lack of involvement and low touches, but with six goals in eight Premier League appearances, Heskey believes he may be untouchable.
Alexander Isak is in fine form at the moment despite not being involved much during games, what are your thoughts on him so far?
“I think he’s got the ability to do both. But at this moment in time, he’s finding his footing again by concentrating on scoring goals, basically.
“He’s a fantastic player and we’ve seen that he can dribble, he can hold the ball, he can do everything. At the minute, he’s finding himself among the goals. Goals are not easy to come by, so do not knock someone who’s actually found their footing when it comes to goals and scoring goals again.”
Can Isak continue to have a low level of involvement, or are goals all that matter?
“I wouldn't say it gives him an edge, but it gives him a boost and once he starts getting fully fit again that will give him an even bigger boost because he can start to do more.
“You can start to get involved more. You can see he wants to do something, but his body probably isn't allowing him to do that.
“So the fitter he gets, I think you'll see more from him, as long as he's getting the goals. Goals always buy people time at times, don't they? So as long as he's getting them, he'll be fine.”
Nyoni and Ngumoha have been exceptional
Featuring alongside Isak are Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha, two players who have blasted out of the academy and into serious roles in the first team this season.
Iraola has placed a lot of faith in the pair, who are 19 and 18 years old respectively, handing them chances in all competitions.
Nyoni grabbed his first Champions League goal against Fenerbahce after making 12 appearances already this season, whilst Ngumoha has made 13 appearances, picking up 2 assists along the way.
Heskey spoke on the duo, who are making their mark so far in a season where time is key if a title push were to be conjured up.
Liverpool are shaping up to maybe become title contenders, do you think they can forge a title push?
“He’ll (Andoni Iraola) need a bit more time working with players who need to understand his philosophy and his style of play. In terms of working with younger players, he's done really well bringing some of them through.
“So he just needs a little bit more time, while knowing that Liverpool is a club that needs to challenge as well. We need to be challenging for cups, and we need to be challenging for the Premier League as well.”
Trey Nyoni and Rio Ngumoha look like they have established themselves in the first team, are you happy to see youth thriving under Andoni Iraola?
“It's very, very important to have some younger lads coming through because, again, you need to be blooding them in. If they're good enough, they're old enough at the end of the day.
“Look at Trey Nyoni and how he controls the play in midfield. He's playing like a 30-year-old. His experience, his know-how, everything, and he's a young lad.
“I watched him when he was at Leicester City. I was coaching a little bit at Leicester, and I saw him at 16, and he was like that at 16, so they just need to give him a bit more time. He's doing really, really well and it'll be interesting to see how he develops.
“Rio has done fantastic. He's putting a lot of pressure on some of the players that are senior players in his position to get ahead of them to start games and play regularly. Whenever he plays, he's been great. He's direct, he knows what he wants to do, and he just gets it done.
“Probably one of the negative things I would have said about him previously was about his end product. He does great stuff, but what's the end product? Now he's actually showing that he has got that too. He's showing that he can get the assists, and he's showing that he can pick that pass out.”
Liverpool go toe-to-toe with Crystal Palace this weekend, where three points could send them back into the top four depending on Chelsea's result. Nyoni, Ngumoha and Isak will seek to start once more as Iraola aims to break the club's winless streak away from home.