Jamie Carragher puts Premier League on Reds alert as defender roars: Liverpool are back

By Sportsmail Reporter Updated:

Jamie Carragher insists Liverpool will erase the memory of last season's nightmare by competing at the top of the Premier League again.

The Reds tumbled to a seventh-placed finish in May and manager Rafa Benitez was shown the door, with Roy Hodgson coming in to replace the Spaniard.

Joe Cole and Milan Jovanovic have also arrived at Anfield while captain Steven Gerrard and striker Fernando Torres have decided to stay on Merseyside.

And Carragher is relishing Sunday's big kick-off against Arsenal after a busy summer.

Bring it on: Carragher (left) can't wait to get back to business with Liverpool

Bring it on: Carragher (left) can't wait to get back to business with Liverpool

He told the club's website: 'We have got to look forward with great excitement. Last season never went well but we have got to forget about it and put it behind us.

'Just like when Rafa Benitez and Gerard Houllier came in, everyone got a lift.

'That's the way it is. We are not a club that changes manager every couple of years. But it's not just that. We have made a couple of good signings, like Joe Cole.

'Not only that, two of the best players in the world have just committed their futures. That is absolutely massive and has given everyone the kind of lift we needed.

'We have got to be positive and I see no reason why we can't do well but the proof, as always, will be provided by the performances we produce on the pitch.'

High hopes: Cole has been brought in after leaving Chelsea in the summer

High hopes: Cole has been brought in after leaving Chelsea in the summer

Liverpool vice-captain Carragher is set to start his 15th season in the first team and the 32-year-old insists some things remain the same.

He added: 'There is one thing that will never change. Liverpool will always be expected to do well and the pressure for us to be successful is just as intense as it was all those years ago; it might even be more. It will be like that for years to come.

'I know people are writing us off and saying we have got no chance but I've no doubt that we will improve.

'We are not the type of club that says we are going to do this or that. But now is the time for everyone to come together again and show that we can leave last year's form well behind.

'There will be new ideas, difference voices on the training ground and all that helps.'



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