Carragher calls for owners to back Rodgers

The Anfield legend – who made over 700 appearances for the club before retiring 12 months ago – has yet again paid tribute to the progress being made under Rodgers as Liverpool sit two points behind Premier League leaders Manchester City heading into the final weekend of the season.

City are overwhelming favourites due to a superior goal difference to be crowned champions for the second time in three years, but Carragher hopes the vast improvement in league form at Liverpool is a "springboard for future  success rather than the summit of ambitions".

Rodgers needs to sign a handful of quality players, according to Carragher, to address the issue of squad depth and ensure that Liverpool are challenging for top spot next season and beyond.

And the media pundit hopes lessons have been learnt from previous false dawns over the last decade.

"Liverpool have had an outstanding season and for long periods were the best team in the land," wrote Carragher in his weekly Daily Mail column.

"And who knows, if Manchester City suffer an unexpected slip, they could yet be crowned champions.

"The likelihood, however, is that there will be no trophy, as was the case in 2002 and 2009 when the club last mounted a challenge for the Premier League title.

"In the two campaigns in which I came closest to the title, we needed two or three quality signings to make the next step, but the subsequent transfer windows were filled with poor signings as Gerard Houllier, Rafa Benitez and their scouts made mistakes that prevented us from pushing on.

"Liverpool don't need a summer where they buy players to fit in around the edges.

"They need quality additions. They need three players to go straight into the team — two defenders and a midfielder — then another striker and a wide player to add depth and quality.

"We hear a lot about the transfer committee who work behind the scenes at Anfield but however the system operates, the owners need to back Rodgers financially and trust his judgment to bring in the quality that will prevent a repeat of what happened after 2002 and 2009."