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• 5-2 win at Fulham lifts Liverpool into Europa League place
• ‘Even if we don’t get fifth, they’ve been absolutely fantastic’

Kenny Dalglish has declared he would be immensely proud of the way his Liverpool side have responded since he took charge, even if they failed to qualify for Europe this season.

Their 5-2 Premier League win over Fulham lifted them above Tottenham into fifth place and pole position for Europa League qualification. But despite scoring 13 goals in their last three games, there does not appear to be enough matches left for Liverpool to secure the fourth Champions League place and Dalglish refused to speculate on where they might finish the season.

“I don’t know. We’ll just wait and see,” he said. “I know it’s boring and repetitive and we keep saying it, but it’s not served us too badly over the years. We’ll play every game to win it and, at the end of it, we’ll add up the points and see where we finish. Who would’ve predicted coming here and winning 5-2? I certainly wouldn’t.”

Dalglish, who took charge with Liverpool languishing in the bottom half of the table, added: “Nobody would ever have anticipated the run that the boys have been on since January, would they? It’s been unbelievable. Even if we don’t get fifth, they’ve been absolutely fantastic. For us, the position hasn’t been as important as the response of the players.”

For Liverpool to stand any chance of a Champions League spot, they would need Manchester City to suffer a late collapse, starting against Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night.

Dalglish added: “You can only get benefit from other results if you do the business yourself. And as long as we continue to do our business then we can dictate what happens to us. If we get a bonus from someone else, so be it. But we can’t do anything about it. It’s bad enough trying to get ourselves in order.”

Dalglish, who revealed Andy Carroll missed the victory at Craven Cottage because “a bruise” but should be back for Tottenham on Sunday, hailed Liverpool’s performance as “fantastic”. The Scot singled out the outstanding Luis Suárez for special praise, as well as paying tribute to Jamie Carragher for moving up to second in the club’s all-time appearance list on 666 games.

He also congratulated Manchester United on all but securing their 19th league title, which would see them overhaul Liverpool’s record of 18.

Refusing to be drawn on whether Liverpool could mount a title challenge of their own next season, Dalglish said: “Anybody that wins the title is normally the best team in the league and I don’t think Manchester United are any different from that. Although they might be your rivals and your competitors, it doesn’t mean to say that you’re disrespectful. They set the standards that we’ve got to get to and we’ll do our best to get there.”

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• A club like Liverpool must aim to win it, says Uruguayan
• ‘We’ve just been hoping Tottenham drop points’ for fifth spot

Luis Suárez is anxious to ensure Liverpool will not be exiled from continental competition for the first time in 12 years.

To avoid that fate, Kenny Dalglish’s team need to win their battle with Tottenham Hotspur for fifth place in the Premier League. The prize is Europa League involvement but Suárez has an answer for those Anfield regulars who believe the former Champions League winners are beneath what many regard as a distinctly second string contest.

Told that the Europa League was seen as unimportant in certain quarters, the Uruguay striker said: “For me it’s not. For me it’s important, it’s the sort of competition you want to play in. A club like Liverpool must aim to win it. We have to do everything to win as many competitions as we can,” said Suárez.

“The Europa League is our objective. When I came I wanted to help Liverpool get there. When the second half of the season started, it looked really difficult but we have kept winning games and we’ve just been hoping Tottenham drop points.”

Liverpool’s European ambitions almost certainly hinge on the outcome of their match with Spurs at Anfield on Sunday week. Dalglish’s side are in fifth place, level on points with Harry Redknapp’s team but having played a game more. “That is going to be a great game,” said Suárez. “That will be the most important game of our season if we want to dream about going to the Europa League.”

His sentiments were endorsed by Jamie Carragher. “It’s nice to have the Europa League to aim for,” said the veteran defender. “I know there’s a lot of talk about whether people want us to finish fifth or not but, for me, Liverpool is European football. That’s what the club is about and I’m desperate for us to get it. Tottenham will probably feel the same; it will be a great game against them now.”

Not that Carragher is naive about the prospect of another season spent as Channel Five’s Thursday night “stars”. “The problem of playing Thursday and then Sunday is that it doesn’t give players much time to recover,” he said.

“But it’s another trophy to go for. I’d have loved to have been in Dublin [for this year's final] in a couple of weeks; that would have been fantastic.”

He even believes participation in next season’s unwieldy pre-Christmas group stage could contain hidden benefits, particularly for more junior squad members. “I wouldn’t expect us to play our full team – especially in the group stages – but it’s great experience for young players to be involved in that kind of game,” said Carragher.

“Sometimes, if you are playing only League games, you don’t need to change the team too much, so you have 10 or 12 disappointed players. Having more games makes it easier to keep everyone happy.”

Liverpool has been an increasingly sunny place since Roy Hodgson stepped down, Dalglish returned and Suárez arrived on the English stage.

“The manager is always the main man and takes the most plaudits but Suárez has been outstanding,” said Carragher. “He has made a big difference to us. Maybe not as much as the manager but a big difference.”

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• Carroll scored first goals for Liverpool against Manchester City
• ‘It shows what we can do for next season,’ says striker

Liverpool’s record signing, Andy Carroll, is encouraged by the club’s future prospects even if they fail to qualify for Europe this season. The £35m striker scored his first two goals for the club since joining from Newcastle in January in the comprehensive 3-0 win at home to Manchester City.

Although the victory lifted the Reds to within five points of fifth place, the current incumbents Tottenham have a match in hand – although they still have to go to Anfield.

Europa League qualification remains difficult, although yesterday’s victory has improved their chances, as should City win the FA Cup but fail to finish in the top four a Europa League place would go to the sixth-placed finisher.

But even without continental competition next season Carroll can see the potential which exists within the squad. “We’re just putting a team together now,” said the England international, whose partnership with fellow January arrival Luis Suárez is already showing promising signs.

“Me and Luis are new, Flanno [reserve-team defender John Flanagan] played his first game at the back – and I thought he did great – and it shows what we can do for next season. The team spirit here is great, there are massive names here, it’s a massive club and I don’t see why we can’t attract big names.”

Carroll’s own Liverpool debut was delayed by an injury he was carrying when he arrived from Newcastle, but he finally found his mark in his sixth appearance.

“It was unbelievable. All the lads played well and obviously I got the goals I’ve been wanting,” said the 22-year-old. “I’m here to score goals, though the result is the most important thing and we got the three points. The hat-trick would have been nice but, like I say, the three points is the most important.”

The Liverpool midfielder Lucas Leiva expects that Carroll will start to score freely now that he has got off the mark for the club. “Everyone is so happy for Andy. For a few games he’s been trying to score and at times has been unlucky,” he said. “He showed what he’s capable of doing, not just with his head but with his feet as well.

“Your first goal is always the most difficult to get. I’m sure now he will get more and more. The way he scored, especially the first which was a great strike in a big game, means he will have more confidence in the next few games for next season as well.

“It’s up to us to keep creating chances for him. We want our strikers to score all the time. Sometimes it is not possible but as a team we have to make sure they feel comfortable and have chances to score goals.”

The Liverpool manager, Kenny Dalglish, has always preached patience when it came to Carroll, pointing out he was signed for the club’s long-term future – not just to save this season after the departure of Fernando Torres. But he accepted they had probably thrust the England international back into action earlier than they would have liked in order to get him up to speed after two months out injured.

“We have pushed him. Normally you get some games to get yourself match-fit but he never had that,” said the Scot. “He came on against Manchester United and then he played against Braga and it went from there. We have tried to help as much as we can but he has been fantastic in his recovery work and the goals are maybe coming now because he is getting up to full match fitness now.

“If he hadn’t scored before last night it was not his fault, it was our fault because we threw him in earlier than we should have – not in a way that would have threatened his fitness, only in a way to get him match fit and sharp and he was that against City. He was unselfish as well because he and Luis Suárez took turns to drop back to try to help and the work both put in was fantastic.”

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