Barnes backs Liverpool’s bid for fourth place

(GSM) – Former Liverpool and England midfielder John Barnes has backed Liverpool to claim fourth place in the Premier League despite a disappointing season.

The Merseysiders have suffered dips in form and injuries to key players including captain Steven Gerrard and striker Fernando Torres this season.

With their tenth defeat of the season at Manchester United in the weekend, they currently sit sixth in the table behind Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City.

Following their early exit from the Champions League and going by their current standing, there has been growing uncertainty over the long-term future of manager Rafa Benitez.

But Barnes says the Reds have enough quality in the squad to finish fourth.

“That is why Liverpool have finished in the top four,” Barnes told BBC Radio Merseyside.

“Not just because of the expectation but because of the quality they have.

“They do have that quality and they haven’t lost that quality from finishing second last season. Things aren’t going well at this particular moment time.

“Tottenham and Aston Villa are a little bit different now because they have improved their squads. If you look at the bench, for example, when Liverpool played Tottenham first game of the season, arguably they had a stronger bench than Liverpool.

“So that’s a little bit different. but they haven’t got the experience of going all the way which Liverpool have, in terms of finishing in the top four.

“I think Liverpool have the expectations, and rightly so, because they’ve done it in the past and they’ve proven it. They have the quality and hopefully that will carry them to the finish line.”

Barnes says the battle for the final Champions League place has added extra spice to what he believes has been an interesting league campaign.

“It is really exciting because of the battle for fourth place, because we’ve always had the battle for first, second, third and fourth,” Barnes continued.

“Had it been Arsenal, Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea battling for first, the battle for fourth would be non-existent. Although, Everton did get in a couple of years ago.

“So the pleasing thing from my perspective, although it’s not going in Liverpool’s favour at this moment, you can possibly even go down as far as Everton.

“Then you can say, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth are making it interesting.”