Carragher expects Gerrard to stay

Jamie Carragher is certain captain Steven Gerrard will sign a new contract to keep him at Liverpool for the rest of his career.

Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said on Sunday he is ready to offer his captain a new contract, before Gerrard scored the winner and made a brilliant goal-line clearance in a 2-1 victory at Aston Villa.

The 32-year-old’s outstanding display against Villa illustrated his continued importance to the club, and Carragher is confident the skipper’s performances this year will see him rewarded with a new deal.

“I’m sure Stevie will sign a contract and finish his career at Liverpool the way I’ve done,” Carragher said.

“There is no doubt about that. I’m sure he’ll sit down and sort it out in the next couple of months.

“Steve will be finishing his career at Liverpool. He is ‘captain fantastic’ every week. It’s not just against Villa. He’s been doing it for years, scoring at one end, saving at the other.”

Carragher pointed to his captain’s inspirational qualities after Gerrard helped Liverpool to their first come-from-behind win in the Premier League this season.

“It is something that has been questioned about us over the last few years, going behind in games and coming back,” Carragher said.

“Following on from the defeat at Southampton, we spoke beforehand about putting on a performance. Winning that game now makes Southampton look like a blip because we were on a good run.”

According to Carragher, Liverpool remain focused only on their next game, claiming the players do not know where on the table they need to finish to secure European qualification.

“I don’t really look too far ahead and to be honest if you asked most of the lads, they wouldn’t even know what position would get us into Europe,” he said.

“Sometimes it is fifth spot, sometimes sixth, seventh. We’ll just try and carry on and win games and see where it takes us.”