Carragher: Gerrard Will Finish His Career at Liverpool

With the season winding down, any European dreams all but done and top four hopes wholly dashed, some of the focus has begun to drift from the present to the future. Over the weekend, there were suggestions the club was looking forward, too, by working on a contract extension for Steven Gerrard.

When asked about what the future might hold for the club's captain, Jamie Carragher at least has no doubts as to what will happen next, insisting Gerrard will join him in retirement a few years down the road as another one-club man.

"I'm sure Stevie will sign a contract and finish his career at Liverpool the way I've done," said Carragher, two months away from ending his own 17-year career. "There's 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."

For Gerrard, though, while there may be little reason to doubt he will eventually sign a new deal, getting that new deal signed is far from a priority when even the faintest glimmer of a chance to qualify for Europe by finishing fifth still exists.

"For me, it's not a priority at the moment," said the captain. "Of course I'm happy that the club are mentioning new contracts, but it's not important at the moment. What we need to do is put pressure on for that European place. A lot of the teams above us need to play each other.

"We're hoping there's a few slip ups above us and we can capitalise, but it's important that we take maximum points. Every game is a cup final now."

With seven games remaining, Liverpool stand five points back of Arsenal in fifth, and with Everton three points ahead in sixth. There are still 21 points for the Reds to play for, though with Arsenal also having a game in hand the task is nearly impossible.

Taking maximum points, though—all 21 of them—would likely be enough. And as unlikely a goal as that might seem, it's only right that the club's captain put the priority on trying to achieve it over hammering out a new deal for himself.

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