Carra: Go fourth and qualify

JAMIE CARRAGHER has given Liverpool’s celebrating Carling Cup squad a sobering reality check by telling them the league table will ultimately define their season. The dramatic penalty shootout victory over Cardiff at Wembley prompted talk from several Liverpool players, plus owners John W Henry and Tom Werner, that it could herald the dawn of a triumphant new era at Anfield. Carragher was rather more circumspect. While he savoured claiming a third League Cup winners’ medal — his day was made all the more special given he brought his son, James, nine, up the 107 steps to collect the trophy — he argued it was not enough for his club. Liverpool’s ultimate target is to reclaim a place in the Champions League and though they have the security of a guaranteed spot in next season’s Europa League, the 34-year-old defender has warned that collecting a first trophy in six years cannot be the ceiling of the club’s ambitions. ‘We should be looking to get into Europe every year through our league position rather than through winning the Carling Cup,’ said Carragher, who is set for an extended run in the first team after Daniel Agger fractured a rib at Wembley. ‘Yes, it is nice to have a trophy in the bag but we are bigger and better than that. It’s great that we have qualified for the Europa League, of course it is, but the next step is trying to get back into the Champions League.’ Those comments were echoed by striker Craig Bellamy. He said: ‘It’s not the end of the season for us now we’ve won a trophy. The fact is that at this club there is pressure on, day-in day-out, to play at the highest level. That’s what we’ve got to continue to try to do. The Champions League is where we want to be.’ The problem for Liverpool, though, is they now find themselves seven points adrift of fourth-placed Arsenal, whom they meet at Anfield on Saturday. Carragher said: ‘We know it is going to be a difficult task. We have achieved something but there are still two targets to go for — the top four and the FA Cup.’