Tuesday, May 3, 2011

Carragher wants Euro spot

Jamie Carragher says critics who claim Liverpool would be better not qualifying for Europe do not understand the club.

Sunday's 3-0 win at Anfield took the Reds above Tottenham Hotspur and into fifth place.
Even though Spurs have a match in hand they have to go to Anfield for the penultimate match of the season and Kenny Dalglish's side are now favourites to claim the Europa League spot.
However, because of the upheaval at the club this season, with the change of ownership in October followed by the January removal of Roy Hodgson just six months into the job, many observers and fans believe the Europa League will do more harm than good to the rebuilding process. It is not a view shared by Carragher, who insists the winning mentality which has returned under Dalglish means the players want to compete for everything.

"I know there is a lot of talk about whether people want us to finish fifth but, for me, Liverpool is European football," said the 33-year-old.
"That's what the club is about, and I'm desperate for us to get it.
"It is another trophy to go for. I'd have loved to have been in Dublin (for this season's final) in a couple of weeks - that would have been fantastic for us and fantastic for the supporters.
"If we keep winning games, we've got a good chance of qualifying, but Tottenham will probably feel the same, and I think (the Spurs match on 15th May) will be a great game now.
"It is important for the team to keep winning and maintain the feelgood factor.
"It hasn't been a great 18 months really for the club, it has been tough.
"Now, though, we can start to enjoy ourselves and go into games expecting to win."
Contrary to popular opinion, Carragher thinks being involved in the Europa League - the Champions League looks beyond their reach now with Manchester City seven points ahead with a match in hand - may actually be a help rather than a hindrance.
Liverpool's European campaign this season started on 29th July, albeit with a number of fringe players because of the knock-on effect of the World Cup.

The Reds vice-captain believes utilising the whole squad will keep things competitive and harmonious in the early stages of the new campaign.
"Of course I can understand why fans would not want us to be in the Europa League and [as players] playing Thursday and Sunday doesn't give you much time to recover," he added.
"Realistically the manager would use the squad to start with and it would be good for the young players to get European experience as well.
"And I am sure we will be adding some new players to the squad next season so we would have a bigger squad than we have now and more players could be involved, playing more games.
"When you are only playing every Saturday it is difficult to keep players happy because you don't change the team so much so you end up having 10 or 12 unhappy players.
"Sometimes having more games can keep everyone happy at the club."

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