Carragher accepts reserve role

Liverpool vice-captain Jamie Carragher says he remains happy at the club despite limited first-team opportunities this season.

Born and raised on Merseyside, Carragher has been a mainstay of the Liverpool defence since making his debut in 1996.

The veteran defender has found himself behind Martin Skrtel and Daniel Agger in the battle for a starting berth this term, but knows he has to justify his inclusion if he wants to be picked ahead of his younger colleagues.

“Of course, every player wants to play,” Carragher said.

“But I went out of the team through injury and other players have come in and played well. The manager has been fair to those players and rightly so.”

“Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel have been two of our best players. I’ve got to wait my turn, just as other players had to wait their turn when I’d been playing for so long.”

Carragher hailed the return of club great Kenny Dalglish as manager in January last year.

“Obviously we had the ownership situation that got sorted out,” he said.

“Then Kenny came in, and we had massive upturn in form.”

“When you’re at Liverpool as a player or a manager it’s about winning trophies and we’re very close this season and desperate to go all the way in the FA Cup.”

According to Carragher, a top-four finish and Champions League qualification remains Liverpool’s objective in the second part of the compaign.

“The top four is also a big ambition because, of course, the Champions League is a massive part of the game, and that is something we want to be a part of,” he said.

“The season’s there for us, and if we can put a great run of form in between now and the end of the season we can achieve a lot.”