Jamie Carragher is adamant that Liverpool still believe they can salvage a fourth-place finish at the end of the season.

Sunday's 2-1 defeat to Manchester United at Old Trafford sees Rafa Benitez's men four points behind Tottenham Hotspur, the current occupants of the final Champions League qualification place.

Liverpool have been involved in more matches in the Premier League than Spurs, Manchester City and Aston Villa but do have an easier schedule from here on out.

"We have just got to recover from this as quickly as possible and get on a run of victories," Carragher told The Sun. "Of course we believe we can still close the gap. Our rivals will have difficult spells and we have got to make sure we take maximum points when they do.

"Maybe there will be more criticism of us now and, at a club like Liverpool, the pressure is never off.

"Things are a bit more difficult but we have still got lots of points to play for."

Carragher conceded that Liverpool's third fixture in a week, after victories over Portsmouth and Lille, was just too much for the tired Reds.

He added: "We did well to a certain point but we played last Monday, then again on Thursday and then had to come into this match.

"The squad hasn't been strong enough for one reason or another this season but it was still a big ask to go there after that run, particularly as United had all week to prepare.

"But we have lost and you have got to move on, as this was the most difficult fixture we had before the season end."