Jamie Carragher is confident that Hodgson can help Liverpool reach the former heights. The 32-year-old told talkSPORT: "I am sure they will still be involved at the club next season and if they are the aim for the club will be to get back into the Champions League."

He added: "I think there is a lot of talk about this but the people who say these things, a lot of them are doing this to create a bit of pressure around the club. I don't think anyone knows these people personally to come out and say that."

Hodgson stated at his unveiling that his goal for next season is to get Liverpool back into the elite European competition.

Jamier Carragher added: "We didn't just miss out, we finished seventh. That is a big disappointment.

"If we could get back in there that would be a great achievement for the club and the manager.

"It is going to be a tough season but if we keep the players we have got and get back to where we were a few years ago I am sure we will give everyone a run for their money."

Carragher is looking forward to working with veteran boss Hodgson, who led Fulham to the Europa League final last season.

"I think it is a great appointment by the club," he said. "I am sure we can move on from this and it will go well."

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The new Liverpool Home Kit is in our famous red, whilst the away kit is white with red pinstripes.

Both are on offer at Red Hot Football - the soccer specialists.

After a season of turbulence on and off the pitch, Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher claims that the club will be focused on just getting back into the top four next season.

Having finished seventh in the Premier League, Liverpool were usurped in the Champions League places by Tottenham and only just made it into the Europa League behind Aston Villa and Manchester City.

But with the future of manager Rafa Benitez up in the air and the continuing issues surrounding co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett, Carragher believes that, instead of attempting to reignite a strong title challenge, the club should just target finishing in the top four again.

"Clubs like Real Madrid and Inter Milan can just throw £100 million at new players if they don't win the title,'' he told the People. "But Liverpool can't do that. We have to build. We can't just raid the transfer market.

"Next season, rather than thinking too much about the title, we have to concentrate on getting back in the top four."

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Jamie Carragher today accused the Premier League of jeopardising Liverpool's Europa League hopes by making his side play just 72 hours before their 1-0 semi-final defeat to Atletico Madrid.

Although the travel chaos across Europe forced Liverpool to endure a two-day trek to the Spanish capital, the centre-half said his team were hampered more by having to face West Ham on Monday.

Liverpool won that televised match 3-0 but it was the third time in seven weeks the side had been in action so close to a European tie.

“The worst thing for us was playing on Monday,” said Carragher. “You hear all about the Premier League wanting English clubs to do well in Europe but playing on Monday night was a joke.

The form of Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has been met with criticism this season, and the Reds center-back has again found himself under the spotlight after being adjudged to have pulled Michael Owen down during the Reds' 2-0 win over Manchester United.

Carragher received a cautionary booking for the offense, but some commentators argued that the challenge was worthy of a red card.

Amid the scrutiny, though, stands a loyal manager, as Rafael Benitez has rushed to defend the 31-year-old.

He told Sky Sports: "Jamie played well.

"He had been having a difficult time but the only thing to do in such a situation is to try again and try again. It was only a question of keeping working hard, and he proved that he is a good center-back and not at the end of his career just yet."

Benitez continued: "He showed what a good defender he still is and [collectively] we have shown that we are not a bad team, not a bad squad. Maybe next April people will again judge us but at this moment we have enough quality."

Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez has proclaimed that the injury suffered by Jamie Carragher in the Reds' final pre-season game against Atletico Madrid is not as dangerous as it initially appeared when the defender went down.

"Jamie’s injury is not serious, just a twisted ankle," Benitez has been quoted on The Liverpool Echo as saying.

"But with our injury problems which include Daniel Agger and Martin Skrtel, we felt we needed to take him off as a precaution, just in case.

"We will keep an eye on him for two or three days to see how he reacts, but I feel he will be OK. Hopefully, Agger or Skrtel will be fit too."

The Spaniard then turned his focus onto the other defensive problems in the squad, insisting that both Skrtel as well as Agger would be fit in time for the trip to White Hart Lane.

LIVERPOOL'S centre-back crisis has eased ahead of Sunday's Premier League opener at Tottenham.

Jamie Carragher is making good progress after twisting his ankle in last Saturday's 2-1 friendly defeat to Atletico Madrid.

Carragher is expected to play at White Hart Lane and the Reds are confident he will have an experienced defender alongside him.

Martin Skrtel has been out since suffering a hamstring injury in the friendly against Thailand on July 2, while Agger has been hampered by a back problem during pre-season.

However, Rafa Benitez is hopeful either Skrtel or Agger will prove their fitness in time to face Spurs.

Liverpool came as close as they have done in many years last season to finally winning the Premier League title. But the Reds' drought in lifting the league crown still stretches back to 1990.

Few would deny that it was captain Steven Gerrard and striker Fernando Torres who were instrumental in the Merseyside club coming within a whisker of beating Manchester to the league crown last term.

Both, however, suffered injuries in the first-half of the season and veteran centre-back Jamie Carragher believes that should the duo remain fit, the club will once again be very close to finishing on top.

"No other team in England has a partnership like Gerrard and Torres," Carragher told the club’s website.

"It's strange to be talking about Stevie as a striker now but that's what he's become, and in that position, just behind the main forward, there is no one better," added Carragher, ambitiously.

"In fact, there is no better strike pairing in the world than Gerrard and Torres. They can tear defences wide open in a split second.

"When you have that kind of ability in your team, it gives you incredible belief. If we can keep them both free of injury, then we are going to take some stopping. There were times last year when we went into games without them and it showed.

"It was great to see them both sign new contracts this summer - they are the most important players in our team.

"If they stay fit and continue to improve, then I think we will go very close. We all hope this will be our year, but we'll have to play as well as we did last season and turn the draws that damaged us into wins.

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher is pleased to see Michael Owen back at a top-four club - but hopes he finds life at Manchester United tough going.

Carragher predicted United's latest signing could prove a masterstroke, but is crossing his fingers the England striker struggles for goals.

He told the Sunday Mirror: "He is still a great player, but I know I won't want him to carry on scoring."