Jamie Carragher has accepted defeat in Liverpool's Premier League title bid and believes the club are now fighting to earn a Champions League place this season.
Defeat at West Ham last night left them 17 points off the pace in seventh, still without a win in the league since Boxing Day.
Boss Rafael Benitez is confident they can earn a top-four place but Carragher is ready for a fight to get back into Europe's elite for the next campaign.
'I think the league has gone and we've got to realise that we're fighting with Everton, Aston Villa and Man City for that top-four place,' said Carragher.
Carragher conceded the injury-time penalty at Upton Park, although it was problems elsewhere that led to Liverpool failing to earn their first league win of 2008.
Hammers goalkeeper Robert Green had a quiet evening and the only save he was required to make, from Fernando Torres, may have been going wide.
'I don't think it's down to luck or anything like that - I've always said you get what you deserve in football and if results aren't going well like they're not at the moment that's something we've got to turn around quickly,' Carragher said.
'The teams at the top are a long way away and we've got to just focus on the Sunderland game on Saturday and try and get three points from that.
'It's been a few games now since we got all three points and we need to get more points on the board.
'West Ham is a tough place to go and obviously we're not playing great and confidence is a bit low but if we'd got a point there it would have been a step in the right direction.'
The dip in form in the league means the Champions League or the FA Cup is a more likely route for success.
'It's not all doom and gloom,' Carragher added.
'We're still in two very big cup competitions and, as I say, we want to do well in them, but the league form isn't good enough and the sooner we sort that out the better.
'At the moment things aren't going for us, but I don't think it's about luck.'
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