Telegraph: Carra: Remember where we were

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.

Jamie Carragher says Liverpool were "on their knees" before Kenny Dalglish rejuvenated the club and he deserves more patience in his rebuilding efforts. 

While there is acceptance the club's league performance is unsatisfactory, Carragher is disturbed by the speed at which Dalglish's reign has come under fire.

The Liverpool defender also believes the more established Anfield players need to accept most responsibility for the league form rather than allow the recent recruits to take all the flak.

"People need to remember where we were when Kenny took over again as manager," said Carragher ahead of Sunday's match at Newcastle United.

"The club were on their knees. We'd gone through a difficult period and found ourselves in a poor position in the league. Kenny took over and it wasn't just that he gave everyone a lift in terms of his presence around the club, but most importantly with performances and results.

"Everyone knew this season was all about rebuilding the team and bringing a lot of new playing staff to make an improvement. Winning our first trophy in six years was a sign of that. It was a massive achievement for everyone at the club. We're still in the FA Cup so it could get better.

 "We all recognise we've come up short in the league compared to where we'd like to be - because we wanted to be closer to the top four - but considering there's been a lot of change it was always going to be difficult given the established sides we were up against. We were just starting the process again so you can't just expect it happen immediately."

With so many new players arriving at once, Carragher says it's understandable they've had to adjust to new surroundings but Dalglish's expertise in invaluable.

"He's the one here who knows what it means to win a league title and what we've got to do going forward," he said. "There isn't anyone else here with experience of winning a league title. It's ridiculous anyone would dismiss his experience and achievements in the game when he's started getting Liverpool winning trophies again already.

"As a group of players, we need to improve and it's not fair just talking about the new ones. Maybe we need a couple new players next season to push us on, and we hope the players we bought this season will then go on to another level after a year's experience playing for the club.

"It's not easy learning what it means to play for Liverpool. There's far more additional expectation and pressure here."

Source: The Telegraph

This story has been reproduced from today's media. It does not necessarily represent the position of Liverpool Football Club.