It was hard not to get caught up in the emotion of McIlroy’s Masters win last month, as he finally achieved his ultimate goal in the most dramatic fashion imaginable.
Now McIlroy has to find a way to get himself fired up to go again and start a new era of winning.
He has another major title to aim for in a couple of weeks’ time and should be looking to set new records in his sport and aim for more.
The Open Championship is being played on home soil at Portrush again this summer, so I can’t imagine he needs any motivation to go again.
I can only speak from personal experience and I never had a problem with setting myself new targets in my career.
I scored 474 goals and my desire never waned until I hung up my boots when I was nearly 40.
That number is more goals than the great Jimmy Greaves and all the legendary goal scorers from the pre-Premier League, but I’m a Scouser who played for Ireland and because I don’t tick the English box, and they don’t seem to mention my name when the debate over great goal scorers comes up.
Much to the annoyance of all players who played before the Premier League era, records in football now all seem to be focused on the this relatively new league, but I am the leading living league goal scorer in the history of the English game and it is a record to be proud of.
Rory McIlroy dons the green jacket. Photo: Getty
McIlroy also secured his place in sporting folklore after completing the golfing Grand Slam at Augusta, but he should want another green jacket next year and a couple more majors before that if possible.
The same desire needs to be rippling through the veins of the Liverpool players after they celebrated winning the Premier League title amid memorable scenes at Anfield last weekend.
Arne Slot and his players cannot see this as the end of their story and instead, they should be looking at this as the start of a run of title wins that will continue for years to come.
The true winners draw inspiration from days like last Sunday and want more and more of it.
We’ve seen it with Manchester City in recent years, as they have dominated the Premier League with a mix of brilliant management, great players and a massive pile of money.
Alex Ferguson did something similar during his time at Manchester United, as he won again and again and ensured that he got rid of players who were not willing to join him on that journey.
We need to see something similar at Liverpool over the next few years, as Slot has earned the right to sign some top players to add to the squad he inherited form Jurgen Klopp and I am hoping to see four top players added to the squad this summer.
Ferguson was brilliant at signing great players when his United teams were on top and that’s what Liverpool need to do now as the mood around the club is so positive.
I was at Anfield last weekend for what was a fantastic occasion as the Premier League title was clinched in style with a performance we have waited a few weeks for.
Liverpool have been poor in their recent matches, with the lead at the top of the table taking some of the sting out of their game and the strikers, in particular, went off the boil.
Well, they all bounced back into form for the big day at Anfield and the 5-1 win against Tottenham was one of those moments that you wanted to last forever.
I could see people in the stands not wanting to leave as they had waited so long to see Liverpool clinch the title in front of The Kop and the moment was everything they had hoped for.
Now we can say definitively that Liverpool are undisputed as the greatest team in English football, as they are level with Manchester United on 20 league titles and they have four more European Cups in the trophy cabinet, but that can’t be the end.
Slot should be telling his players to enjoy this title win and the belief they should get from it has to stand them in good stead as they start next season as champions.
I won’t be alone in enjoying watching Chelsea players give Slot’s side a guard of honour at Stamford Bridge today, as this club has been one of the less than friendly rivals for Liverpool this century, with the battles against Jose Mourinho’s Blues leaving plenty of scars.
Some Chelsea fans have been pretty vile with the chants they have directed at Liverpool fans down the years and it will be satisfying to see them applauding the Liverpool team as they step onto the pitch at Stamford Bridge this afternoon.
With the Premier League now won, today’s match means a lot more to Chelsea than it does to Slot and his players as their job is done for this season, but they should get their minds back on the job and finish this season in style.
Liverpool have lost some of the momentum they built up over the last few weeks and that contributed to the Champions League exit against Paris Saint-Germain and the Carabao Cup final defeat against Newcastle.
Champions have an aura that should give them an edge over their rivals, but it also means you are a team that can be shot at and everyone will want to beat Liverpool next season.
So Slot and his players have to put a marker down to confirm they are already looking ahead to next season and continuing their winning form in the final few games.
They need to finish off this memorable season in style and that means setting a few mini-targets like getting over the 90-point barrier and banishing any nonsense that they only won the title because all their rivals lost their way.
MAN CITY COLLAPSE HARD TO UNDERSTAND
LIVERPOOL have finally knocked Manchester City off their perch, but there have to be big question marks over what has gone wrong for Pep Guardiola’s side this season.
While Liverpool have clearly been the best team in the league this season, City should not be as far behind them as they are and questions should be asked of the manager and his players.
They enjoyed all the plaudits when they were collecting the trophies, so what has happened to Pep Guardiola and his team for them to lose their way so badly?
You might say they lost the appetite to keep winning after so much success in recent years, but that should only take a few percentage points off your performance.
They have been out of the title race for many months now, so that lack of motivation theory isn’t a valid excuse.
The long-term injury to Rodri was a blow, but great teams cannot fall apart when they lose one key player.
City are now pushing to secure a Champions League finish and win the FA Cup, Guardiola will justifiably claim they have salvaged a pretty average season.
I would suggest there are bigger problems at City than the absence of one key midfielder and they will be under pressure to bounce back next season.