Carra: Elimination not disastrous

Liverpool defender Jamie Carragher has claimed Champions League elimination would not be a disaster as the club can fall back on the Europa League.

The Reds need to beat Debrecen on Tuesday night and hope Group E rivals Lyon avoid defeat by Fiorentina if they are to qualify for the last 16.
 
Carragher said: "We're still focused and believe we can go through in the Champions League. If not, you move on.
 
"The club doesn't die because you go out of the Champions League."
 
Qualification to the knockout stages of the competition seems to be a tall order for the 2005 Champions League winners.
 
Lyon have already qualified, while Fiorentina are in pole position to progress for the first time in a decade.
 
If Liverpool were to bow out of the Champions League then the Europa League would, according to Carragher, be a welcome second chance for the Anfield club in Europe.
 
And the defender maintained that winning the Europa League would "put a different gloss" on a so far disappointing season, which has yielded only one victory in the last 10 games.
 
"Myself and Stevie Gerrard won that competition before and it's a great competition," stated Carragher. 
 
"There are other things, like the FA Cup. There's a long way to go. We haven't had a great start to the season but it can certainly be turned around between now and the middle of May."
 
And Liverpool's task in Hungary has been made even tougher following injuries to a host of players, including forwards Ryan Babel, Fernando Torres and Albert Riera.
 
"The results of the other game is important to us but it's only important at the end of our game," added Carragher, who is expected to return to the centre of defence if Glen Johnson and Daniel Agger pass late fitness tests.
 
"It doesn't make a difference what's going on through the game, we don't need to know. We just need to know we have to win our game and, at the end of the game, get the result.
 
"We always believe at this club that we can do special things. We have done it in the past and we know we can do it again.
 
"We have grown up with this team and the manager over the last five years, so the Champions League is a part of the club.
 
"We have got ourselves into a bit of a hole and hopefully we can get out of it. It has been done before and we know we can do it again."
 
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