London - Steven Gerrard has delivered a frank assessment of Liverpool’s season by insisting they only have themselves to blame if they miss out on Europe.
Brendan Rodgers’ men retained their slim hope of finishing in the top five with a 2-1 win over Aston Villa on Sunday, but have no margin for error in the final seven games and must also hope Arsenal and Everton falter.
Liverpool have threatened to deliver a serious challenge this season, but have often contrived to produce abysmal performances, such as the 3-1 defeat at Southampton two weeks ago.
It is for that reason Gerrard, who was outstanding at Villa Park, believes the only word that will describe Liverpool’s campaign is ‘inconsistent’ and the captain has demanded that steps are taken in the final weeks to rectify the problem.
‘There is a little short season now of seven games and we just need to make sure that we play to our maximum because if we don’t, like at Southampton, we know we will be punished,’ said Gerrard.
‘We need to use the Villa game as a level of performance from which to continue.
‘If you say you haven’t got what you deserve, then there’s an element of feeling sorry for yourself there. But we know what our problem is - it is inconsistency. For the majority of the games we have played well enough to be higher up the league than we are.
‘But there’s a handful of games there where this team haven’t turned up. That’s the reason why we are sitting seventh in the table.’
After the game Rodgers reaffirmed his desire to tie Gerrard down to a new contract. The England captain has 15 months remaining on his current deal but says discussing new terms is not a pressing concern.
‘It’s not a priority,’ he said. ‘The important thing is to finish strongly. It’s important that we keep taking maximum points.’
Daily Mail