Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard was reluctant to enter a war of words with Graeme Souness after his criticism last week.

Liverpool have managed just three wins from their last 14 matches and the all-too-familiar late capitulation against Fiorentina in the Champions League on Wednesday typified their campaign.

They might yet salvage a degree of self-respect in the Europa League or FA Cup, but as Souness spelled out a top four Premier League finish is paramount.

Gerrard said: "Meltdown is for him to say, I can't predict that far ahead. But for me, as captain, I've got to make sure that doesn't happen. We're up for the challenge - there's no time for hiding.

"We need to get out there, roll up our sleeves and get this football club back where it belongs - that's as far up the League as possible. We're the players that are responsible for where we are in the League so we need to get it right. We must play better. We need to get back into a top four position as soon as possible. It is the No.1 priority now.

"At the start of the season we had intentions of being in the title race, especially after finishing second last year. That was a big confidence boost. It gave us the belief we could fight all the way, but we've had a bad start. The idea now is to get people back fit, get back to full strength and start moving up the League.

"I'm confident we can do that if we get everyone back fit."