The Premiership giants were plagued by off-field unrest between manager Rafa Benitez and the club owners, and the embarrassing FA Cup defeat by Championship side Barnsley was their latest setback.

Apart from the cup failure, the Reds are struggling to reach the top four in the league, as they currently lie fifth, with a massive 19-point gap adrift of leaders Arsenal.

"I wouldn't call this just a bad spell, it's been a lot longer than that. We realize we are not playing well enough. It's not a matter of putting your finger on one reason," Carragher said.

"It's simply because we have not been good enough. We've still got the Champions League to play for and we have to fight for that fourth place, so every league game is going to be important.

"We have to make sure we are in the Champions League next season,

It's the only thing left that we can win."

Last year's European runners-up face a tricky last 16 fixture with Italian champions Inter Milan, who are yet to be beaten in the domestic league.